Percy Jackson and the Prison of the Gods
by Project Phoenix Agent 003
Summary: In the final battle between Percy and Kronos, Annabeth betrays Percy and all of Olympus. Kronos rises. Luke survives. The gods are imprisoned. Percy is sent to Ogygia before he is killed. Now, a year later, Percy is back to settle the score. And he's mad.
1. Betrayed

_**Hello all people who enjoy reading! This is my first fanfic, but that doens't mean it won't rock! The italics at the beginning indicate words directly taken from The Last Olympian. That should scream SPOILER ALERT! to you people. So if you haven't read The Last Olympian, you've been warned. Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**_

_"BAH!" Kronos screamed. He slashed his sword through the smoke, tearing the image to shreds._

_"They're on their way," I said. "You've lost."_

_"I haven't even started."_

_He advanced with blinding speed. Grover–brave, stupid satyr that he was–tried to protect me, but Kronos tossed him aside like a rag doll._

That was where I lost it. Kronos had tried to destroy camp. He'd forced Silena to be his spy, he poisoned Thalia's tree, he'd sent Chris into the Labyrinth, he'd basically killed Beckondorf, he'd betrayed Annabeth, and now I was **done **putting up with his crap. That was when the sensation I'd gotten while defending my dad's throne hit me again, only a lot more powerful. I didn't just feel the power of the ocean behind me; I felt the power of all of Olympus behind me.

I charged Kronos, my sword a blur of Celestial bronze. Kronos attempted to block, but my strike was so powerful, I knocked the blade clean out of his hands and across the throne room. I hacked away, each slice chopping a chunk out of Luke's armor.

Then, with one last, mighty swing, I actually cut Luke's skin, despite the fact that he was invulnerable. He stumbled back, shocked.

His eyes and expression flickered. Sometimes he was Kronos, other times he was Luke. But when he spoke, he spoke with both their voices.

"Jackson…" they cringed in fury.

I raised my sword, because I suddenly realized that Luke's mortal point was just under his left arm. I was going to end this. I was going to destroy the Titan king.

That's when my life was ruined.

Behind me, someone shouted out, "NO!"

I turned just in time to halfway-dodge Annabeth's lunge, which had been carefully aimed at the small of my back.

The scratch she'd left me with was smaller than a paper cut, and not even half as deep. Even so, I let out a cry of agony so powerful, that it defied all levels of pain. Nothing compared to this. Not even being cut by Kronos' scythe or holding up the sky. It was as if all the pain I'd ever felt combined in to one final, agonizing blast. I felt myself slip towards the edge of death.

My invulnerability faded away. I felt it leave me. The exhaustion had caught up with me, and my vision flickered, teetering between blind and mostly blind. My head spun. I'd lost all strength. All hope to carry on. And that's when the most crippling feeling yet came.

I realized it wasn't losing my invulnerability or even the blow to my mortal point that sapped my strength. It was Annabeth's betrayal. I realized she'd never really been with me to begin with. She'd been plotting my death one way or another since we'd first met. Just like Luke, only a lot worse because I'd never really gotten to know Luke.

This was Annabeth. She was the reason I lived to see sixteen. In contrast, she's also the reason I'm dying right now. I didn't much care about the dying. I only really cared that everything I thought I knew about Annabeth was a lie. She didn't care about camp. She hated the gods just like Luke had. She really wasn't my friend. If anything she was my worst enemy. Worse than Luke or Kronos. Because she was a living lie.

The time she saved me and Grover from Cerberus? A lie. The time she saved me on Circe's island? A lie. The kiss on the cheek after the chariot race? A lie. Saying at my funeral that I was the bravest friend she ever had? A lie. The kiss on Mount St. Helens, the time I comforted her before we went on a quest through the Labyrinth, pretty much every moment when I thought we were friends? IT WAS ALL A LIE!

Even as I realized this, Annabeth wasn't done yet. She brought her bronze knife up over her head, and stabbed it down into my chest. My vision blacked out, but I still heard what followed.

"Luke!" she screamed.

"Ann…Annabeth?" he murmured

"Are you alright? Did he–"

"I'm fine Annabeth. He…he didn't get my weak point. But he was about to. I," he stopped for a moment, and I heard the pain in his voice. "I saw it in his eyes. He knew. He would have killed me, and ended our plans to end the gods. But you…you stopped him Annabeth. You're a real hero."

My vision started working again. But I wished it wasn't. Annabeth was currently occupied making out with Luke. Disgusting. I saw Riptide lying a few feet away, and I desperately crawled to it. I was going to die. But there was no way in Hades I was going to let Olympus go down with me. I grabbed Riptide and, shakily, raised it to throw it. I took careful aim at Luke's mortal point.

But then, of course, my vision blacked out again. I heard Luke and Annabeth stop sucking face.

"Did you…" Luke struggled, "did you find a way?"

Annabeth started to cry. "I tried Luke, I really did. I searched every book and ancient text I could get my hands on. I even searched through Deadalus's laptop for a way. But I'm sorry. When Kronos assumes his true form, you'll be burned away."

"I'll sacrifice myself if it means the end of the gods," Luke assured her.

"It won't be in vain Luke," Annabeth said. My vision started working again, and I saw Annabeth look at me and notice I had my sword ready to throw.

"I'll make sure of it," Annabeth hissed.

But, ironically, Luke stopped her. "Annabeth. It's happening. You have to go."

"But…" she argued.

"GO!" Luke roared.

Annabeth turned and ran. Luke began to glow with a white hot intensity. Blinded, I threw anyway, praying that my aim had held.

I heard Luke cry in pain, and a wave of pure force sent me flying out of the throne room. I flew and flew and flew.

I thought I was dead. I knew I should be. Instead, I finally began to feel like I was falling. I saw the ocean racing up to meet me. But I knew with one look that the sea no longer belonged to Posiedon. It was in the hands of Oceanus, and that meant the Titans had one. And I had failed.

I hit–surprisingly–a hard, sandy shore with a loud _thump!_ Just before I blacked out, I saw none other than Calypso run out to meet me. She pulled me into her arms, stroking the side of my face.

"Welcome home Percy," she murmured to me soothingly. "Welcome home."

**Well how'd I do? Yes ladies and gents, that magical time has come once again for you to REVIEW! Anonymous reviewers allowed. Constuctive criticism apreciated. Flames accepted. I'm an easy going guy. Just so long as you REVIEW!**


	2. Life on Ogygia

_**Wow, I didn't expect people to like this story as much as they did. Well I'm going to do my best to update daily, but don't kill me if I don't. Well, since you all asked so nicely, here it is: Ch 2! It's sadly just a filler chapter but these are things you need to know.**_

The next time I woke up, I couldn't move my arms and I had a _huge _headache. And when I say huge, I mean so incredibly painful it rivals that headache Zeus got when Athena was stuck in his head. I was pretty sure that I didn't have a goddess in my head, and I wasn't about to have Hephaestus crack my head open and find out.

As soon as I thought that, I remembered everything else. Kronos had risen, and I had failed. The only bright side I could find was that Luke had burned up when Kronos had assumed his true form. But the truth was that provided little comfort.

With difficulty, I pulled myself into a sitting position on the couch I was occupying. I groaned, trying to relieve the pain. It didn't work.

At that moment, Calypso walked in. If it was possible, Calypso was even more beautiful than when I saw her back when I was fifteen. But maybe that was just because seeing her was comforting after losing Annabeth, the war, and pretty much life as I know it.

"Feeling any better Percy?" she asked gently. She'd been caring for me for months now, and despite her magic, I still felt like standing would kill me.

But hey, I'd done plenty of other suicidal stuff in my life, so standing didn't seem that bad. Even if it hurt like Hades. I tried to stand, but I got about six inches off my butt before every muscle in my body gave out.

She laughed weakly. "I'll take that as a yes then."

The truth was, I felt great compared to how I'd felt when I got there. But I was judging my health by how far I could stand before collapsing. So yeah, by my definition, I was still crap.

"Calypso, how…how are the minor gods holding up?" I asked.

The day I'd regained consciousness for longer than three minutes–about a week ago–Calypso had informed me just how bad things had gotten in the outside world. Kronos, back-stabbing Titan king that he is, had turned on the minor gods almost right after the war.

When the main Olympians were captured, the minor gods fled to Typhon's Prison–one of the last safe places for enemies of the Titans–where they planned out their rebellion and guarded Typhon. It was a miracle they'd lasted as long as they had. Not even hiding in Typhon's Prison should've kept them safe, but the minor gods were staying alive using cunning worthy of Athena.

"They made another attempt to take the armory of Oceanus, they even came as far as the armory gates, but they failed." Calypso answered. "Iris was captured yesterday, and all Iris-messages have ceased. The Titans have been trying to get her to resume her duties, but so far they have gotten nowhere."

"And my dad?" I asked. Last Calypso had told me, Poseidon was in Tartarus with most of the other Olympians.

"He…" Calypso looked away. I waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Calypso what happened to my father?" I asked more sternly.

"Percy as you know, each of the Olympians not suffering individual punishment is forced to take a turn holding my father's old burden," she reminded me. That was all it took for me to understand where my dad was.

"Gods no…" I whispered.

Anger coursed through my veins. I could feel the strength returning to my body. I wanted revenge. I knew I could beat Kronos. I'd come so close last time. I just needed a little help. I just had to free the gods.

"Percy, I know what you're thinking, but you can't go. Not yet," she said, stroking my chin as she spoke. "I can't lose you again. Please," she pleaded, "stay."

"You won't lose me Calypso," I reassured her. "But I can't stay here forever. I have to save my dad. I have to–"

"Save the world, blah, blah, blah. I know Percy. But that was your reason for leaving last time. Look what happened," she warned. "How can you think you'll succeed this time?"

"Because this time," I declared while standing up. It felt like holding the sky again. "This time there won't be anyone to betray me."

Calypso pulled me in and kissed me. I didn't pull away. I admit it, the kiss made me reconsider leaving. I just wanted to stay. I just wanted to be able to sleep at night without feeling the guilt of failure. I just wanted someone I could count on. I just…

Calypso and I tumbled back onto the couch. Within seconds my shirt was off. Her hands went to my belt. I didn't stop her.

My hand slowly drifted up her back, finally finding the strap of her whit dress. Suddenly, a flood of unwanted images hit me.

"_Because I'm your friend Seaweed Brain," Annabeth was saying. "Any more stupid questions?"_

_No! _My mind yelled. _You're lying!_

"_I would never lie to you Percy." _The image wasn't a memory anymore._ "You're my friend. You're…"_

The image faded. _I'm what? _My head screamed. _I'm what?_

I came to my senses, realizing I was still in my boxers, sharing the couch with Calypso.

"No…" I said, sitting back up. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay any longer. I have to go."

Calypso frowned, but she seemed to understand. "Will you return for me?"

"I…I don't know." I admitted.

"Then I suppose this is goodbye," she concluded sadly.

And she kissed me again. I returned the kiss for a little bit, but then I pulled back.

"Thank you," I said. "For everything."

She simply nodded in return and tossed me my clothes. I put them on, and walked out to the magic raft that waited by the shore. I'd asked Calypso to make it a few months back, so I could escape if the Titans ever found me.

In truth, I'd only asked for a raft, but of course she overdid it and made it a magic one. It was protected so the Titans would never be able to figure out my exact location while I was at sea. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the Titan's think I'm dead. Well aren't they in for a surprise.

"Kill a few monsters for me!" she called as I sailed away.

"I will!" I called back.

"Percy!" she called again. But I was farther away now, and her voice was harder to hear.

Just before I was out of earshot, I heard her say, "I love you!"

_**I know, I know, you're all wondering what the heck just happened between Percy and Calypso. The truth is: Percy grew up. Literally being stabbed in the back can do that to people. Here comes the part where you REVIEW. Constructive criticism appreciated. Flames accepted. Just REVIEW!**_


	3. Reflections

_**Hmm. Yeah I know I've left out some details. I'm going to try and explain as much as possible in this chapter. Of course I can't please everybody and there's a good chance you'll still have questions. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.**_

Annabeth's POV

I watched Luke while he rested, wondering if he'd ever get better. Caring for a person like this was not something I was used to. Well yeah, there was that one time I got Percy back on his feet after his fight with the Minotaur, but Percy wasn't bed ridden for a year.

The day I met Percy was the day things started to go wrong. He was given a quest to find the master bolt, which I'd helped Luke steal in the first place. Luke asked me to make sure Percy didn't find the bolt.

"_Well," Luke said. "I think the hellhound left Chiron sufficiently rattled. Percy will get a quest for sure."_

"_To find the bolt that _we _stole!" I reminded him._

"_Minor detail," Luke replied confidently. "The point is when Percy gets a quest you need to go with him."_

_I frowned. I mean yeah, I'd been waiting my whole life for a quest, but a quest to catch myself as a lightning thief. It was, in its own way, suicidal. Of course, the logical brain of mine reminded me that many believed stealing Zeus's bolt in the first place was suicidal. But hey, he turned Thalia into a tree! Zeus deserved to lose his favorite toy._

"_Why?" I asked._

"_So you can make sure he fails," Luke said._

_I thought it out, and figured it was a good plan. Even though Percy had kelp for brains and could barely handle the Minotaur, there was a chance he could succeed. If I was there, I could make sure he failed. I have to admit, if I didn't know any better I'd think Luke was a child of Athena._

I did my best, but the freaking son of Poseidon ruined everything. Luke had told me he had to leave, because Percy was going to find out the truth or something. That night was awful.

"_I have to go Annabeth," Luke told me flatly._

"_What?" I cried, astounded. "Luke, I know you almost got caught but you can't just leave."_

"_I had a secluded chat with the Oracle," Luke informed me. That's when I knew things were serious. Luke's mom had gone insane trying to become an Oracle. Luke would never go to the Oracle unless things were really, really bad. _

"_Percy's going to learn that I serve Kronos very soon," Luke continued._

"_What about me?" I asked. If Percy knew Luke was with the Titans, then he must know that I am too._

"_No," Luke reassured. "He'll be clueless until the end. But only about you."_

"_If you're leaving, I'm coming too," I stated firmly. I wasn't about to lose Luke._

"_You have to stay Annabeth. You can work from the inside, gather information," Luke said._

"_You've already got Silena for that," I reminded him._

_Luke looked away, and from the look in his eyes I knew I wasn't going to be going with him._

"_Silena won't work out. She's too emotional. But you, Annabeth, you could fool them all. You could do what no one else can."_

_I sighed. I knew he was right. I still didn't like it._

"_If I do this," I said, giving in, "odds are we're going to face each other, as enemies."_

"_I know," was Luke's only response._

"_Then how will I know when to drop the charade and help?" I asked._

_Luke smiled at me and winked. "Trust me Annabeth, you'll know."_

_I swallowed and managed an "Okay"._

For years I held my act together. I became Percy's friend, gained his trust. There was even a few times where we saved each other's lives. Don't get me wrong though, I had not gone soft on Percy. I was just making sure Kronos' only chance to control the prophecy wasn't lost. Nico showed up too, but sadly Luke and Kronos both agreed that he was too young, and so Percy still lived. But then came that fateful day. The day Kronos assumed his true form.

_I saw Percy slash, and saw I line of blood appear on Luke's skin. _Oh no. _I thought. If Percy hit Luke's weak spot…_

"_Jackson…" I heard Luke and Kronos say at the same time._

_Percy raised his sword, ready to finish off Luke. _Not on your life Jackson. _I thought. _

"_NO!" I screamed. I lunged, aiming for the small of Percy's back. I admit a part of me felt bad about betraying Percy like that. I mean, he'd trusted me with his weak spot and there I was using it against him. That probably hurt him. But apparently, the scratch my knife gave him hurt even more._

_He cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Before he could get back up, I stabbed my knife into his chest and left it there. _

Percy. After everything we'd been through, it was hard to forget him, even if he'd almost killed Luke. Not to mention his old sword Riptide still hung from my belt, both a constant reminder of him and a replacement weapon after I'd lost my knife.

Luke began to stir, moaning something I couldn't understand. I watched him, making sure nothing was wrong. Again he moaned. I only caught the end of what he said.

"Erseus…"

Luke opened his eyes.

"Annabeth…" Luke said, "there's something I need to tell you. It's about–"

I didn't hear the rest of his sentence, because at that moment a powerful voice called out "Chase! Get you're a** in here!"

I cursed under my breath and walked into the throne room of Kronos, remembering my other job.

In addition to nursing Luke back to health, I also had to tend the hearth of Kronos. Sometimes I wondered if we really were better off with the gods.

Percy's POV

I stared out at the horizon. Somewhere across this ocean was America. That's where I was headed. Back to the world which was now ruled by the Titans. I felt a little bad about leaving Ogygia. Not just that I was leaving Calypso, but I was betraying my dad in a way. Calypso had told me that my dad's last act as a free god was sending me to Ogygia, where I would be safe. Now I was leaving, and heading straight for the danger Poseidon had desperately tried to protect me from. I'm sure he wouldn't mind too much though, once I rescued him.

For now, I could only wonder why all this had happened to me. Why did I have to trust all the wrong people? Ethan, Luke, and…her. They'd all betrayed me. Stabbed me in the back, some of them literally.

I clutched my Celestial bronze knife. The very same knife she'd stabbed into my chest. The knife that Luke had given to her, and then she had–albeit violently–given to me.

_I will save Olympus. _I decided in my head. _Even if I have to rebuild it brick by brick._

The shoreline of New York state came into view. I gripped my knife even tighter. Maybe Calypso was right. Maybe I shouldn't have come. At the very least, I should've waited until I was fully healed. Damn my ADHD. I just couldn't sit and wait could I?

_**Well this is where it gets interesting. Action heats up. Annabeth questions her choice. Luke makes a plot. And soon Percy will grow more powerful with each passing chapter. But until then, you'll have to settle with what i've posted so far. REVIEW! But yeah i already know my characters aren't perfectly in character, but give me a break I'm not Rick and I'm doing what I can.**_


	4. He's Back

_**It's a sad day in paradise. Certain circumstances have forced me to–for the time being–go into hiding. However this is not a depressing author's note. It is a parting gift. Here it is, the action-packed chapter I've been promising, and the chapter that picks up where the summary left off. Ch4: He's Back!**_

Finally, I landed in New York. This was it. I walked into the city, or what was left of it. The brunt out shells of cars, some of which were over turned, lined the streets. Many of the once towering skyscrapers had been reduced to ten story mounds of half-rubble, half-building. A few of the smaller skyscrapers still stood relatively okay.

In the distance I could make out Times Square, and crowded around it were hundreds, no, thousands of monsters of all kinds. They seemed to all be anxiously watching _something. _Then I heard the crowd roar, "FIVE! FOUR! THREE!"

With each number they shouted, someone on a rooftop dropped a poor mortal over the edge of a building.

"TWO! ONE! NEW YEAR!" the crowd screamed as two more mortals met their doom.

So, I'd been gone a whole year. Honestly, things were better than I thought they'd be. Or at least that's what I thought until I saw a _dracaenae _forcing a small line of slaves across the street. One of them, a tired, familiar looking satyr, collapsed on the ground. The _dracaenae _ordered him to get up, but he just moaned something about food.

I resisted the strong urge to help. I don't know why, but I felt a deep connection to this satyr. But I also knew this wasn't my fight, and I could risk getting caught in a city full of monsters, especially in my condition.

I turned toward a nearby alley, seeing a ladder that could get me to the low roof of a nearby ruin. From there I figured I could travel rooftop to rooftop until I made it to the entrance Orpheus had created into the Underworld.

I reached the roof, my muscles begging for rest. I looked out at the satyr and _dracaenae _one last time. The snake woman had drawn a bow and loaded an arrow. She was yelling at the satyr.

"FOOD!" the satyr moaned, and when I saw his face my world was flipped upside down.

The shock of seeing Grover again made my leg temporarily go limp. I stumbled, and accidentally kicked a chunk of concrete to the ground. It hit the floor with an unfortunately loud _crack. _The _dracaenae _turned, and so did Grover.

"Percy?" he called out in shock.

"DIE!" the snake lady yelled.

Her first shot missed by millimeters. I didn't care, I was just glad I was alive. I sprinted across the roof, and when I ran out of ground, I jumped across the gap and onto the side of the next–and much taller–building. Using the windowsills for hand and foot holds, I climbed up. An arrow hit where my knife was strapped to, so it bounced off. I was instantly glad that I'd strapped the sheath to my ribs. I reached the top just as another arrow was fired.

This time, I wasn't so lucky. The arrow struck me in the thigh, sending a wave of pain through my body and causing my knees to buckle. Half the roof of the building had caved in, so I jumped inside.

Back outside, I heard the _dracaenae _hiss, "An intruder! A half-blood in New York!"

The response from the thousands of other monsters was immediate.

"What?" some called.

"Where is he?" others shouted.

"RAWR!" one growled. (Hey not all monsters can talk.)

The room began to shake. They were going to bring this building down, and me with it. Something crashed through the window. A Greek fire bomb. I jumped out of the way, or as best as I could with a wounded leg. The explosion ruptured a pipe in a nearby wall, spraying me with water that had gotten stuck in the pipes.

My wounds healed, and new strength filled me. I turned to the closet window. Out side I saw a flagpole, and hanging from it was a tattered American flag. I sprinted, then jumped through the window. The glass shattered when I hit it, and I sailed through the air toward the flag.

My hands grabbed the flag, and I swung around a few times like a cheap Spider-Man impersonator. Before the flag ripped, I used the momentum of my swing to catapult me straight into the nearest monster, a ten-foot tall hellhound with razor sharp claws and teeth.

I hit it with a powerful kick, and before it could strike back I unsheathed my knife a cut a chunk out of the hound's shoulder. It howled in pain before disintegrating. Three more _dracaenae _attacked me, but I was ready. I slashed one's head off with my knife. As she disintegrated, I grabbed her spear and impaled another snake woman with the spear. The last _dracaenae _backed up, unsure whether or no to attack me.

Some nearby telkhines weren't as smart though. The four of them charged, and about eight seconds later I was surrounded by their dust piles. I leveled my stolen spear at the last _dracaenae. _

She hissed in response. I threw the spear, and it sunk into her armor. She screamed in pain, and then fell to the ground as a pile of dust.

I stood there, breathing heavy and unsure of what had just happened. I'd thought I was weak, but instead I'd just fought better than Achilles himself. Okay maybe that was exaggerating things but I did feel better than I had in a long time.

"Percy!" a voice called. I turned to see Grover riding a hellhound, using his slave chains as reigns. "Need a ride?"

"Only if you don't mind another trip to the Underworld," I said.

Grover paled. "Oh. Yay."

"You're not coming with with me man," I said. Even if I really wanted Grover with me, I had to do this alone. "But I could use the ride."

"Um, I'll just drop you off at the front gate."

"Smart goat," I chuckled.

I leaped onto the hellhound, and together Grover and I made our way to the Door of Orpheus.

Annabeth's POV

Luke stumbled back into the med clinic I'd set up for him. He made it as far as the door and then collapsed. I caught him before he hit the floor, silently cursing Kronos for making Luke go out to check on the disturbance in Times Square. He could barely stand! You'd think the Titan king would show some gratitude for his former host.

"I was right," Luke said.

"About what?" I asked, although I was pretty sure I knew already.

"Yes Luke," a voice called, "about what?"

I turned to see Kronos standing in the doorway.

"What do you want Kronos?" I spat.

"Excuse me?" Kronos asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry," I sarcastically apologized. "I meant, what do you want _Lord _Kronos?"

Kronos seemed satisfied with that. "That's better."

Without even waiting for an answer to his last question, Kronos left.

When he was gone, I turned to Luke and asked, "It's Percy isn't it?"

Luke nodded. "He's back."

_**Dun dun dun! Why is Percy going to the Underworld? How will Annabeth react to Percy still being alive? Will Luke have his revenge on Kronos? Am I ever going to stop listing questions? Well until the FBI stop looking for me, you'll just have to think about it on your own. But while I'm gone I need you to REVIEW!**_


	5. Memories of Her

_** HAHAHA! Let it never again be said I don't know how to outwit federal authorities! Since the FBI think I'm dead and the CIA don't know where to start looking for me, how's about I bring in the next chapter.**_

__We reached the Door of Orpheus. The thing was though, it was wide open. I could've sworn you needed music to open it. Weird. Grover seemed to notice my confusion.

"When the gods fell, things got a little hectic. Medusa's statues turned back to normal, crows turned white, and the Door of Orpheus was propped open," he explained.

"Whoa," was my only response.

"Well," I said, "this is where I get off.'

"I guess so," Grover mumbled.

"Where will you go?" I asked, suddenly worried.

He paused for a while, thinking. "Typhon's Prison," he finally answered.

"Gonna join the rebellion?" I guessed.

He nodded. "I have to Percy. After what Kronos did to me…I have to get him for it."

Sudden realization hit me, and my hatred for Kronos tripled. "Oh gods Grover, I'm so sorry."

He tensed, as if the very memory caused him physically pain. It probably did. I know what it felt like to be tortured by memories. Memories of her.

_"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"_

"_You didn't need to protect me Percy. I would've been fine."_

"_Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."_

_ "Shut up goat boy," said Annabeth._

"I'll never forget Juniper," he managed.

I climbed off the hellhound. I growled at me, but it decided to shut up once I showed it my knife.

"Take care of yourself G-man," I said.

"I will," he promised.

_Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans…a perfectly good bag of tin cans."_

_ We sloshed across the mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry._

_ After a few minutes, Annabeth fell in line next to me. "Look, I…" Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."_

_ We're a team right?"_

_ She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died…aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."_

The Underworld was different then I remembered it. The main differences were that Hades' palace lay in ruins, and the Garden of Persephone was on fire.

In the distance, I could see some of Kronos's warriors trying to breach the walls of Elysium. One soldier climbed to the top of the wall, but was knocked back when a Greek fire bomb went off. It couldn't be…Beckendorf's ghost?

The Fields of Asphodel were filled with spirits fighting against Kronos's army. They were no match though, and every ghost that fell in battle was dragged off to the Fields of Punishment.

It was sad. A year after the war and the dead were still fighting. I wondered how it was even possible. But then I figured that Hades had raised all of the dead to fight as a final act, like my dad sending me away. I wondered what the other gods' final act had been.

_"Put your cap back on," I said. "Get out!"_

_ "What?" Annabeth shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you."_

_ "I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider–maybe it will lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."_

_ "But you'll be killed!"_

_ Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me._

I shook of the flash back in time to see a winged figured fall out of the sky, pursued by an _empousa. _It couldn't be…

"Mrs. Dodds?" I asked in disbelief.

She looked at me. "Jackson," she snarled in reply.

"Need a hand?" I asked.

"NO!" she shouted.

The _empousa _lunged. Mrs. Dodds braced herself. With lethal accuracy, I hurled my knife, which impaled the _empousa _in the face.

Mrs. Dodds looked at me. I couldn't tell if she was glad to see me or not. Her face was permanently angry.

"So," she said once she was done glaring, "you have finally returned."

"Sorry I'm late," I apologized sarcastically, "but traffic was murder."

She smiled at the word murder. Yep, she scares me. I'm really glad we're on the same side at the moment. I decided to press my luck.

"Would you mind giving me a ride to the Styx?"

"Do I _look _like a taxi?" she growled.

"Uh…"

"I suggest you get a move on Perseus," Mrs. Dodds. "You have company."

I looked into the distance and saw the Chimera. Riding it was…aw shit. Her.

"Right," I agreed, already moving.

I made it about ten feet from the River Styx's edge when she caught up with me. The lion head lunged, ready to bite me in half. I jumped into its mouth, hacked at the inside for about half a second, and then jumped out, narrowly avoiding the burst of flame that spewed from the Chimera's mouth.

The snake head/tail/thing whipped at me, but a fraction of a second later a severed snake head was on the ground.

The Chimera began to dissolve. Disgusted, the rider jumped off its dissolving back. The rider unsheathed a three foot long, double-edge Celestial bronze sword. Oh that b****.

She had the nerve to use _my _sword. Then again, I was using her knife. Fair game.

"Annabeth," I spat.

"Perseus," she responded.

She leveled Riptide at me. I angled my knife. When our blades met, sparks flew. After we traded a few strikes, I managed to lock my blade with hers by catching it on my hilt.

"Nice weapon," I complimented sarcastically.

"Same for goes you," she replied.

I threw a punch with my free hand, purposely pulling it so she had time to counter. Predictable as the sunrise, Annabeth kicked out, and I went flying to wards the River.

I was now two feet from the River Styx. I couldn't jump in, because Annabeth would figure out what I was doing and try to stop me. But if I _accidentally _fell in, she'd just think I was dead. Besides, I wasn't in any condition to fight Annabeth. When I'd left Ogygia, I was still a wreck. The adrenaline rushes, blessings from the gods, and sheer luck had kept me standing up until now.

But now, with Annabeth, I felt the opposite effect. It felt like every second I spent near her drained my energy, my very essence.

The fatigue that had kept me down for a year caught up with me. I couldn't even beat Annabeth. I needed an edge if I was going to save the gods.

She lunged, and I pretended to over dodge and fell right into the River Styx.

_**Cliffhanger! Will Percy survive his second dip in the Styx? What will he see that keeps him grounded to the mortal world this time? And how can he possibly get more powerful every chapter if he just gets weaker around Annabeth? Tune in next time to find out! **_


	6. Its Still Her

_**Hello! Welcome to chapter six! Here you will watch helplessly as Percy takes on his latest foe and gains powers unlike anything a demigod has ever wielded. Also, if you don't mind the spoilers, read my other story. It's a one-shot preview of the sequel to this fanfic. I've entitled it Seven Half Bloods: Doors of Death. If you think that's a bad title for it, vote on my poll for a better one. Or submit your own title idea in a review. Wow this A/N is long.**_

I wasn't sure what to expect the second time in the Styx. Would it hurt more? Less? In truth, it was about the same. But that's still very, very painful. I knew I had to think where to put my mortal point and fast, but it was hard to think while I was _dying_.

Where would people never dream of targeting? Nowhere. Every inch of my body was a target. I could feel my life eking out of me. I didn't have much time, so I decided on the small of my back again. I thought of what to see that would keep me alive.

I saw Grover, enslaved. I saw my dad, struggling under the weight of the sky. I saw my friends who had fallen in the war. I wanted revenge on Kronos. He was the cause of all this.

_Revenge. _I thought. _Revenge. _

But that wasn't working. I was still dissolving. Okay, so revenge on Kronos wouldn't work. Revenge on Annabeth? She had betrayed me, stabbed me in the back, and maybe even broken my heart.

As soon as Annabeth came into my head though, I saw something above the surface of the water. Annabeth. Not the way I'd last seen her–dressed for combat and trying to kill me–but how she used to be, back in the good old days when I still thought she was my friend. She was wearing her camp half-blood T-shirt and a pair of old jeans. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and her knife was strapped to her arm.

"I swear Percy," I heard her say with a smile, "if I have to pull you out of here one more time, I will personally kick your butt all the way to Tartarus."

The pain went away. I swam to the surface, hoping the real Annabeth wouldn't still be there.

When I broke the surface, she was gone. I climbed out, feeling more like myself and ready for action. I flexed my arms, testing them. I felt fine. I brought the knife to my arm and tried to cut. It didn't work. Percy Jackson the Invincible was back baby.

Annabeth's POV

I watched Percy fall into the River Styx. Just as he sunk beneath the surface, I involuntarily cried out, "Percy!"

I stood, shocked at myself. Why did I care? My friendship with Percy had just been a way to get information for Luke. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. But the truth was, I really had been friends with Percy. I doubt I would've betrayed Percy if he hadn't gotten so close to killing Luke. I knew it wasn't right. My loyalties lay with Luke and Kronos. End of story.

I looked into the Styx. At first I couldn't see Percy, but then I was sure I saw him. He was sitting at the bottom peacefully, as if he didn't have a care I in the world. He looked up at me and smiled.

I heard him say something, just one word, barely a whisper, "Annabeth."

I snapped out of it. I was looking at a black River Styx. I couldn't see Percy. He must have died in the river. Coldly, I walked away toward the exit of the Underworld. I needed to tell Kronos Percy was dead, and tell Luke he had nothing to worry about.

Percy's POV

I strode out, heading for the entrance to Tartarus. That was where the gods would be. Most of them anyway. On the way, three spirits ran out in front of me. Following them was a huge Laistrygonian giant with an ice spike club. With one swing he took out two spirits. The third, however, managed to roll out of the way. The giant got ready to swing again, but the spirit stabbed out with a Stygian iron sword.

The giant howled, and dissolved into dust. The spirit looked at me, and removed its helmet. Oh come on! Is my past coming to haunt me?

"Nico?" I called out, excited.

"Percy you son of a b****!" he said as he hugged me. "I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah," I agreed, "I've been getting that a lot."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Going to save the gods," I responded.

Nico made an annoyed _pft _noise. "Good luck, Jackson. Do you have any idea how long we've been trying to get them out?"

"A year," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Uh, right," Nico said embarrassed.

"So, you're with the rebellion?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Me, Thalia, Clarisse, Chris, and a few others made it out alive. We've been fighting ever since. Where have you been?"

"I've uh," I wasn't sure how to tell Nico I'd spent the year recovering and getting fresh with Calypso, "been healing. But now I'm back."

"Well," Nico said skeptically, "good luck with breaking the gods out. But you do know you'll have to get past Kampê, right?"

I swallowed. "I can take her."

Again with the _pft _sound from Nico.

"You coming?" I asked.

"Have to get back to Typhon's Prison," Nico said remorsefully. "I came to see how things were in the Underworld, but I've got to get back to Thalia…and everyone else."

Hmm. I decided to ask Nico about that later. Right now, I had a prison to break into and a demon to kill.

I reached the entranced to Tartarus. It still gave me the creeps, but now it didn't feel like something evil and older than the gods was down there. There was no one guarding the entrance that I could see. Cautiously, I edged towards the pit. Then, a rather annoying sound came from behind me.

"MOOO!"

I turned around and rolled my eyes.

"You again?" I asked. "How many times do I have to kill you before you _stay dead_?"

The Minotaur yelled out, "MOO!"

I pulled out my knife. The Minotaur readied his axe. We charged each other. He swung hard, but his blade met open air. I rolled in close and stabbed. To my surprise, the Minotaur managed to dodge my stab. I followed up by back-flipping onto the Minotaur's back. He started bucking like crazy, trying to shake me off. I held on for eight seconds, but then he threw me off.

The Minotaur charged again with his horns angled at my throat. It hit with powerful accuracy, but my throat was impenetrable. I got thrown back a few feet though, and my knife clattered out of my hand. The Minotaur charged again, but I was ready this time. I grabbed him by his horns and tossed him over my shoulder. Whoa. I didn't know I could do that. I scooped up my knife and jumped onto his chest. Before he could react I stabbed him in the chest.

He dissolved into dust once again. I hoped he'd stay dead for a while this time. But I doubt he would. Somehow I knew I'd be fighting him for the rest of my life, and so would my children, and my children's children. That is, if I survived all this.

I stared into the depths of Tartarus. I reminded myself that I was invulnerable, and that nothing would hurt me too much. Thinking of my invulnerability reminded me of what I'd seen in the Styx.

I couldn't believe it. After all this time, after everything that had happened and everything that she'd done to me, Annabeth was still the one thing that made me want to stay mortal. It was still her.

_**Aww… Well yeah I know I'm taking too long to get to the fight between Kampê and Percy, but I'll get to it! Can Percy take on Kampê alone? How can the gods stand a chance at fighting Kronos this time? Is Annabeth actually in love with Percy? Tune in next time to find out!**_

**_Your Ad here: Hey I've got an ameteur writer friend who recently posted a story entitled Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The New Prophecy. Do the poor kid a favor and check it out, then leave him a flame for me! Or a good review if you find it O-K._**


	7. A New Edge

_**What happens in this chapter will disgust some, elate others, and shock many. It's one of the things that will set apart this story from the others. The focus may temporarily shift away from Annabeth and focus entirely on Percy (unless you guys beg me to keep Annabeth actively involved in the story) for a while, but I promise you Annabeth will play a pivotal role in how this story ends. Here it is Ch 7!**_

__I held my breath for a full minute. Two minutes. Hoping I didn't have enough air left in my lungs to scream, I jumped into Tartarus. What was it like falling into that void? It was like skydiving off Mt. Everest during a pitch black night without a parachute. Oh, and the fall lasted so long I got bored.

Finally, what seemed like a million more feet down, I saw a tiny speck of dim, green light. I could hear an annoying clanging sound coming from the bottom, like metal against metal. As I got closer I heard voices.

"Ares, honey," a beautiful voice said, "where did you get that can?"

"Huh?" another voice responded, I'm guessing Ares. "This? I found it."

"Liar!" a third, regal voice exclaimed. "You've been eating haven't you? Where are you keeping your food, huh? Where?"

"QUIET!" another voice yelled. This one was much darker. The same tone was found in Nico's voice at times. "This is ridiculous. We aren't going to get anywhere by clawing each other's eyes out."

Ares whistled. "Wow Corpse Breath, that's the smartest thing you've said this century."

I heard the sound of a punch connecting with its target. Hades roared with laughter.

"And that…" Ares growled, "was the dumbest thing you'll ever do."

"Bring it war god!" Hades yelled.

Ares cried out in anger. I kept falling towards them and the bottom of Tartarus.

"Both of you!" some else said. "My son-in-law is right. We need to focus on escaping. Then we can kill each other. A way out isn't just going to fall out of the sky!"

I landed solidly in the middle of the prison. Locked up in one big cage that was pushed into the corner were Hades, Ares, Hera, Demeter, and Aphrodite. They all looked bruised and battered. Instead of whatever else they normally wore, they wore tattered rags full of bloodstained holes. All in all, the looked like they'd gone through hell.

The gods stared at me for a while, silent. Then the gods abruptly stopped laughing, all except for Demeter, who just stared at me with her mouth open.

Hades calmed down faster than anyone else and asked, "You were saying Demeter?"

The laughter died down. And Hera spoke, "Well don't just stand there Jackson, get us out of here!"

I walked up to the door of the cage used my knife to pick the lock. Wearily, the gods stumbled out. Ares' legs buckled and he almost fell, but Aphrodite caught him. They were worse than I thought.

"Well Jackson," Hades said shakily, "I hope you have a plan."

"Not really," I said confidently.

I took Ares from Aphrodite, putting his arm around my shoulders so I could support him while he walked. The other goddesses followed me, with a limping Hades bringing up the rear.

If we could just get out of here without Kampê finding us, we were good to go. But of course I don't have that kind of luck. When we were halfway to the elevator back up (I really wish I'd seen that on my way in) a voice screeched behind us.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I cursed under my breath and handed Ares back to Aphrodite. I drew my knife and turned to face Kampê. She drew both her poison swords.

_Damn. _I thought. _I really need to get a weapon other than this knife. _

"Percy," Hera warned, "you don't stand a chance."

"Can you fight her then?" I asked irritably.

In answer Demeter coughed and wheezed involuntarily. Ares groaned.

"I'll take that as a no," I grumbled.

Kampê laughed. She raised her sword. This was going to end before it started. I needed an edge that was bigger than invulnerability and fighting prowess. But that was all I had. At least that's what I thought.

"Perseus, wait," Hera begged. She whispered something to the other gods, wearily, they nodded in agreement. All the while, Kampê edged slowly closer to me.

"Guys," I begged, "pick up the pace."

Hera's hand glowed white. Hades hand became blacker than void. Ares hand shimmered with a fiery red. Demeter's hand radiated a pure green. And Aphrodite's hand glowed pink.

At first I thought they were going to blast Kampê with some godly energy burst. But then they pointed their hands at me, and I figured they were about to blast me to bits for being a failure. They did blast me, but not to bits. I felt energy coursing through me like never before. Every part of my body went crazy. And I mean _every _part of my body. Kinda embarrassing.

I felt stronger than ever. Kampê backed up a few feet. I looked back at the gods. They looked even worse now. But for a second I didn't realize what else was wrong with them. Then it hit me. Their cuts were bleeding, and I mean actual red blood. They looked about seventeen or eighteen. They looked like…normal people.

The gods collapsed. I looked down at my hand. It looked different…older. My hand went to my jaw, and I felt the rough beginnings of a beard, like I hadn't shaved in a while. But the thing was: I was seventeen. I couldn't grow a full beard. I was seventeen right?

I didn't have anymore time to think about it, because Kampê got tired of waiting and charged. I parried almost effortlessly with my knife and countered with a stab. Kampê dodge backward in surprise.

"Jackson!" Hades yelled. "Quit fooling around! You wield the power of the gods! Now use it!"

I wield what? I parried another few of Kampê's strikes, not even breaking a sweat. I stabbed and sliced in response. One blow glanced off of Kampê's armor, but left a deep cut. She backed up again.

"Jackson!" Hades roared.

"Alright, alright!" I shouted back.

This was ridiculous. I held out my hand and concentrated on death and dead spirits. Involuntarily, my eyes rolled up into my head. I muttered, "Serve me…"

Several dead warriors emerged from the ground around Kampê. I stared at my hand, making sure it was mine. I extended both hands again, wanting to try something else. Almost instantly, huge stalks of wheat grew up and entangled Kampê. The dead got to work, slashing, shooting, and basically being awesome.

Almost casually, I walked up to Kampê and stabbed her with my knife. She screamed and dissolved into dust.

I looked back to the gods. They were looking at themselves, and I'm pretty sure they were disgusted.

"Reduced to the power of a demigod," Ares groaned. "Can it get any worse than this?"

"Would someone please tell me what happened?" I yelled.

"We transferred our powers to you Percy," Hera explained. "We are too weak to use them. You must gather the powers of _all _the Olympians if you are to defeat Kronos."

"Defeat Kronos?" I asked. "No, no, no, no. No. I'm not here for that. I came to bust you guys out so _you _could do it. Not me. Percy no fight Titan king."

"Oh for gods' sake Jackson," Hades grumbled, "stop acting like such a coward."

"You will wield the power of Olympus Perseus," Demeter told me. "It's in your blood to hold that kind of power. Invulnerable or not, you should be disintegrating right now. You have what it takes to beat Kronos."

I gave in. "So now what?" I asked.

"Now," Hera said, "we free the rest of the gods in the Underworld. Oh but Percy, I'd deactivate those powers for a while if I were you. There's still the chance you could disintegrate."

I closed my eyes and focused. Suddenly, I felt weaker. My knees wobbled for a second but I got my balance back. Weird. The powers were deactivated, but the gods still didn't look, well, godly.

"You still have our powers, Percy," Aphrodite explained. "They're just toned down at the moment so they won't kill you."

"You may feel some slight discomfort from time to time," Hera warned cheerfully, like a doctor listing the horrible side-effects of a medicine that really isn't worth it. "These are perfectly normal and are merely signs of your body's degeneration."

"Oh," I mumbled. "Great."

_**And so it begins. Whose powers will Percy gain next? Where are the other gods being kept? Who will Kronos blame for the gods' escape? Tune in next time to find out. Oh and since there is some confusion on this matter–I'M A GUY!**_


	8. He Won't Wait Forever

_**School is out baby! Woo-hoo! I may even post a second chapter today. Hm. Well I've gotten the request to keep Annabeth actively involved in the story, so the back-stabbing blonde stays. Oh and she might just have a heart to heart chat with Percy soon. ;) Enjoy the chapter, and of course, review when you're done reading it!**_

Annabeth's POV

Percy was dead. It was that simple. He'd fallen into the River Styx and dissolved. That should've been the end of it. I should be celebrating victory and the death of my enemy. That's pretty much what Kronos had done when I told him. But instead, I was sitting by the hearth, with Percy's smiling face stuck in my head.

I reached for some more fuel for the fire. My hand fell on an old chunk of the throne of Poseidon. My vision blacked out. Somewhere in the darkness, I heard someone call my name. I couldn't tell by the voice who it was. Through the dim light, I saw a figure stumbling hopelessly in the darkness. I heard the voice call out my name again.

I looked to my left at Luke, who was standing next to me. He nodded his head in approval, as if telling me it was alright to follow the voice. I followed it. The voice called my name again, more desperately this time. I was close now.

I saw the dark figure with greater detail this time. Through the darkness I could just make out dark, messy hair, but when the figure turned to look at me, my world flipped upside down. Sea green eyes shone through the darkness.

The figure whispered my name. Then it was gone.

"Percy!" I shouted.

Darkness surrounded me, I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't even hear or feel anything. A single, commanding voice filled my head. _Choose Annabeth. He won't wait forever. _

My vision came back, and I was still in the throne room by the hearth. I looked at the piece of throne I was holding. I decided ton put it away and use a piece of Zeus's throne instead. Luke walked into the throne room, doing his best to walk without falling.

On the bright side, he was getting better at it. He told Kronos something I couldn't hear.

"WHAT?" Kronos roared.

I struggled to stop trembling. I watched as Luke looked up at Kronos, his hand clutching his ribs.

"It's the gods sir," Luke repeated. "They've escaped from Tartarus."

"How is this possible?" Kronos demanded. "How could Kampê have failed?"

"Well…" Luke looked at me. My eyes widened.

_Oh no. _I thought. _No no, no, no, no! _

"They were broken out by an intruder," Luke explained. "The intruder overpowered Kampê and…got the gods to the elevator. But they tripped the silent alarm. They've just exited the pit."

"I see," Kronos seethed. "And who exactly _is _this intruder?"

Luke gulped and mumbled something I couldn't hear. Kronos didn't hear it either.

"Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon," Luke repeated.

Surprisingly, Kronos stayed quiet. I'd expected him to disintegrate Luke on the spot but–

I was pulled out into the middle of Kronos's throne room by an unseen force. I fell to my knees and Luke rushed to my side. Before he could ask me if I was okay, however, Kronos lifted me into the air and started choking me Darth Vader-style. I clutched my throat, even though I knew that wouldn't do anything.

"It's funny daughter of Athena," Kronos said, "I seem to recall you telling me Jackson was DEAD!"

I couldn't breathe, much less form words for a response. But I could still think, and I knew something was up. When I'd fought Percy, he'd barely been able to throw a punch. He couldn't have beaten Kampê, and the gods were too weak to have done it either.

Kronos started choking Luke the same way he was choking me. "Both of you," Kronos ordered. "If Jackson isn't dead in by the summer solstice in seven days, I will send you both to the Fields of Punishment to rot. Do I make my self clear?"

We nodded, on the verge of losing consciousness. Kronos walked over and, grabbing each of us, hurled us against a wall. I heard one of Luke's bones break.

"Good," Kronos said. "Now get out of my sight."

I crawled over to Luke and slung his arm over my shoulder. Together, we stood up and limped out of the throne room. When we reached the steps that lead back to Earth, Luke shrugged off of me.

"I'm not a toddler Annabeth," he joked. "I can walk."

He took about three steps, but then he almost fell. He righted himself and looked back at me. "See?"

I just shook my head and kissed him on the cheek. We walked back down to Earth to go find Percy and…kill him.

Percy's POV

The six of us crouched behind a crumbled wall while a Telkhine passed by. Don't get me wrong I could've killed it or even used m new god powers to zap it to ashes. But I knew I couldn't kill it without making noise, and that would just have the rest of the Titan army on us. And as for not using the god powers? I didn't want to risk speeding up the degeneration unless I needed to.

When I was sure the Telkhine was gone, I signaled for the gods to follow me as I stealthily walked to the next source of cover, which happened to be the skeleton of a dragon. The thing was, it still had chunks of meat on it. Which meant two things: one, it had died recently, and two, the smell of rotting flesh filled our nostrils while we hid there.

"This is taking too long," Demeter complained.

"Shh!" everyone else whispered.

Apparently, monsters have an easier time hearing whispers than complaints, because I heard something say, "What was that?"

I peeked around the giant rib I was hiding behind. An _empousa _flanked by two _dracaenae, _each of which held a hellhound's leash. _Oh typical. _I thought.

"Stay here," I whispered to the gods.

Hades wiped some blood of his forehead. "You don't have to tell us twice."

I jumped out and soared up and over the monsters without them even noticing me. Landing silently, I sunk up on the _dracaenae _on the left. Concentrating, I reactivated the god powers. Using the power of Hades, I encased the _dracaenae _in shadow before stabbing it in the throat with my knife. It screamed, but the sound didn't carry through the darkness I'd created.

I shadow traveled to the other _dracaenae_ and, just for kicks, used Aphrodite's power to make it fall in love with the hellhound. While they were uh, busy (Eww), I slashed at the _empousa._ However, just before my blade hit, the other hellhound lunged at me, snarling.

I threw a punch so powerful it sent the hound flying through the sky. I sheathed my knife and extended my hand in the direction of the _empousa._

"MOOO!"

My first thought was: _Well that was fast. I killed him what, twenty minutes ago? _But when I saw the stampede of cows running at the _empousa_ my thoughts changed to something like: What the f***?

The cows quickly trampled the _empousa _and when the herd cleared, I saw a huge mound of cow crap where the _empousa _had been. Double eww.

I blasted the last hellhound and _dracaenae _to bits with a burst of godly energy, not even wanting to look at them.

"That wasn't so hard," I said.

The gods/demigods cowered in a huddle. If it was possible, Hades looked even paler. They all looked like they'd just seen the scariest thing in existence.

"Uh," I stammered. "Guys? Everything…okay?"

Ares cowered behind Aphrodite and pointed behind me. Confused, I turned around, and then I almost fainted.

In front of me were not one, but three Lydian drakons. If it weren't for my god powers, I'd have been frozen to the spot. That being said, with my god powers, the drakons' stares didn't faze me. Even so, I knew this could be a hard fight. I unsheathed my knife. Here we go…

_**Oh that is gonna be a good fight. Might even take up most of the next chapter. Can Percy take on the drakons? How close are Luke and Annabeth to finding Percy? And how long until Kronos decides to take things into his own hands? Get ready for the fireworks! Oh and hey guys come on there's an important poll on my profile and I need you to vote on it.**_


	9. Escape of the Gods

_**Why three drakons? I just wanted an epic fight. And since Percy's a god times five, I needed a challenge no one would have thought of. And even those overgrown snakes aren't enough. So at the end of this chapter a much bigger challange is gonna show up. Now, here comes the battle…**_

I dodged the drakon's lunge and fired a blast of black energy. The drakon stumbled back, stunned. Before I could finish it off, one of the drakons wrapped around my legs and the other lunged for my head. A burst of energy got them off me easily enough.

I threw my knife at one of them. The blade spun through the air, tearing the drakon's skin to shreds. I grabbed a different drakon by the throat and tossed it at the drakon who'd met the business end of my knife. While they struggled to get off each other and attack me again, I turned my attention to the last drakon. I was planning on a simple crack that would swallow it whole, but at that instant everything went wrong.

My arm went numb, first. Then, it felt like someone was giving my internal organs a massage with a chainsaw. After that, my eye sockets felt like they were on fire. By the time I was able to once again register what was happening around me, the drakons had coiled themselves around me and were crushing me like a python. I was five gods rolled into one. I couldn't die. But I could be crushed, sliced into a million tiny pieces, and served on a platter at Kronos's next meal.

I struggled against them, trying to get them off. Wait, if gods had true forms, then so did I right? Maybe if I was in my true form I could beat these guys…

"Don't even think about Percy!" Aphrodite yelled, as if reading my mind.

Okay so true form wouldn't work. I concentrated, and a giant corn stalk grew out of the ground next to me. On my command, it started beating the drakons off of me. As soon as I was free, I grabbed a drakon and tore it to bits with my bare hands. The other two drakons back up a bit. One of them got into a fierce fight with my corn minion, so it was just me against the one drakon. Piece of cake.

I tried to blast it to pieces with some godly energy, but the pain resumed again. This time, it felt like my brain was trying to drill its way out of my skull. When that settled down, it felt like the inside of my chest was being flossed with flaming barbed wire. I tried to focus, and shut down the god powers before they could kill me. My head still ached, but I figured I was okay now.

That is, until the drakon looked me in the eye. At that moment my only thoughts were: _Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods._

"Focus!" Hera shouted.

I managed to turn on the god powers again before the drakon could kill me. On command, my knife reappeared in my hand. I charged and so did the drakon. After trading blows for a bit, I shadow traveled behind it and stabbed it behind its head. I used my free hand to tear its head off. My giant corn minion bashed the last drakon one final time, and I finished the job by taking its head off with my knife.

I nodded to the exhausted corn. It bowed in return and retreated back into the ground. I shut down my god powers again before they could kill me.

Once they were sure nothing else was going to kill them, the gods came out into the open again.

"What just happened?" I demanded. "Why did I feel like I was being killed from the inside out?"

"Oh I thought that would be obvious enough," Hera commented.

"Percy, you were using pure godly energies. That puts a lot more strain on your body than normal powers like shadow traveling or summoning great combat skill," Aphrodite explained.

"Um," Demeter began.

"Avoid pure godly energies, got it," I said.

"Guys…"Demeter tried again.

"What now?" Ares asked.

"Look," she said, pointing out toward the Fields of Punishment. I looked, and could just make out a small figure struggling to get a boulder up a mountain. But it wasn't who it should've been.

"Hermes?" I asked, surprised but not shocked.

"Well Jackson," Hera prompted, "go save the day. We're not going anywhere."

I heard a hell hound roar in the distance. Hera paled.

"Then again," she said, "maybe we'll find a nice place to hide while you're busy.

I laughed under my breath and told them to take care of themselves. They promised they would, and we parted ways.

On my way to bust out Hermes, I saw a familiar figure submerged chin deep in a pool of wine with grapes dangling in front of his face. Honestly, I thought Kronos had out done himself with this torture.

"Dionysus?" I asked.

"Well, well, well," Mr. D scoffed. "If it isn't Pedro, come to save the day after sitting on his butt all year. It took you long enough!"

"You know," I warned, "I don't_ have _to rescue you."

Mr. D's eyes flared in mild annoyance. "Watch it Prudence, I'm still leaning toward spontaneous combustion."

I activated my godly powers. "Go ahead punk," I said in my best Clint Eastwood voice. "Make my day."

Mr. D's eyes widened in shock. But after a second he regained his narcissistic composure. "Well, we must be getting desperate if they gave _you _their powers. Well, maybe I'll get lucky and the stress will cause your body to disintegrate."

I rolled my eyes. "Look, I'll get you out just as soon as I get Hermes free."

I walked off, leaving Mr. D behind me. He lost his composure again. "Wait. Wait where are you going? Poncho! Don't go! Peter! Percy!"

I laughed to myself once he got my name right. But I kept walking. Hermes was struggling with the boulder he would make it up halfway and then, like clockwork, he would loose his grip or something and the boulder would fall back down to the bottom. And while he worked, fiery whips kept him company. The painful kind of company.

Hermes made it up half way up the mountain once again. And once he got to the halfway point, he lost his footing and dropped the boulder again. I stuck out my arm and caught the boulder before it could roll back down. Hermes looked at me, his face the poster child of surprise.

"Percy?" he cried.

"Yeah, yeah great to see you too," I interrupted.

"But Percy you're–"

"Godly? Dead? Handsome? Heard it all before," I cut him off.

"But how–"

"Rescue now, details later," I insisted.

Hermes still looked shocked that I was not only alive but I was a god. Somehow though, he managed to say something though.

"Percy, how _exactly _did you become a god?" Hermes asked.

"I'll explain later," I promised. "But right now we have to get out of here."

"Percy, if that boulder doesn't get to the top, I'm not going anywhere," he explained.

I copied Nico's _pft _noise and tossed the boulder to the top with one hand. The whips stopped beating Hermes and retreated. Hermes wore a look of pain and gratitude.

"Thank you Percy," Hermes thanked, "Is there anyway I can repay you?"

It didn't take much thought. Okay it took no thought at all. "Well, transferring your powers to me would be nice."

Hermes looked at me like I'd just asked Zeus if I could fly. But then he slowly nodded his head, as if he understood what I had in mind. He held out his hand and it began to glow yellow-green. He blasted, and the power of Hermes transferred to me.

"Thanks," I said. "Now all we have to do is spring Dionysus and–"

I was cut off by a loud scream and someone–who I later realized was Hera–telling me to get my ass over there right this instant. I knew it was dangerous for me to teleport, but it was an emergency. I closed my eyes and was instantly transported right in front of the depowered gods. Not a second too soon either, because an arrow bounced off my chest as soon as I materialized and I knew that if I'd shown up any later, the arrow would have killed Ares.

The exit to the Underworld was about three hundred meters away, but with the Titan army pouring all the arrows they had, no one but me would make it more than three feet.

If we were going to escape, we needed cover. I waved my hand and a huge wheat field grew up. The gods nodded, understanding what I meant. They ran through the wheat field, hidden from the archers. I turned and fired blasts of black energy at the army. When more soldiers showed up, I summoned some undead warriors to back me up and drew my knife.

It was really nothing. The Titan army was no match for me. I slashed and hacked and punched and kicked and basically tore the army apart. I saw Dionysus and the depowered Hermes head for the wheat field. They were arguing about something. Then, Dionysus reluctantly turned toward me. His hand glowed a brilliant purple, and I felt my strength increase.

I entangled the rest of the army in unbreakable vines and laughed contently. This really was too easy. Then again, I never have that kind of luck for long. In the distance I saw the last thing I wanted to see: Kronos's chariot flying towards me. But the worst part of all was not the chariot, but who was pulling it. Artemis and Apollo, with the reins strapped into their mouths. They looked like abused work animals.

Damn you Kronos. I readied my knife. If Kronos wanted a fight, I would give him one.

Annabeth POV

When we saw Percy with the gods, we figured it was going to be complicated. But Luke figured that the gods were too weak to put up much of a fight. I told Luke I'd take care of the gods while he went for Percy. I drew Riptide and Luke raised his own sword. But then things went south. Three Lydian drakons came out of nowhere and advanced against Percy. Percy drew his own weapon and attacked.

Luke and I just watched with our mouths wide open as Percy tore apart all three drakons. Luke contacted Kronos with the news while I just sat there watching Percy rescue Hermes. This was crazy. Percy couldn't even take on one drakon, much less three. Only one thing could explain this. Percy had acquired the power of the gods. Aw titans he was gonna be hard to beat. Maybe even impossible. Athena help me.

Wait, did I just pray to my mother for help? Oh wow maybe I–

_Annabeth. _I heard a soothing female voice call out. _As much as I hate to say this, you must help Percy. He is your only hope to make it out of this alive._

_What? _I thought. _Wait? How is Percy my only hope? _

_You must help him. _The voice repeated.

_He won't wait forever. _A different voice said.

_**Kronos vs Percy. Round one. Emphasis on round ONE. Review. Meanwhile, Annabeth is being annoyed and semi-guided by mysterious voices. Mysterious my ass! You really must have an issue if you don't know who they are. Who is speaking to Annabeth? Can Percy take on the Titan king? Will he be abe to free the twin archers? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	10. Switching Sides

_**Thanks for all the reviews guys! I've hit 100! The time has come for Percy and Kronos to cross blades. Who will stand? Who will fall? I know though you guys are mad at me for not having Percy and Annabeth talk yet, but don't kill me I'll get to it. Maybe even in this chapter…**_

__Kronos stepped dramatically off his chariot, scythe in one hand, and the reigns of Artemis and Apollo in the other. I threw my knife which sailed through the air and sliced the reigns. Then, like a boomerang, my knife returned to my hand. Kronos just made that _pft _sound that seemed to be on everyone's lips today.

"So," I said breaking the silence, "do you want to get beaten now or later?"

"Jackson. You aren't dead after all," was his only reply.

"I get that a lot," I quipped.

__Kronos swung his scythe, but thanks to the power of Hermes, I was way too fast for him. Kronos turned to face me and sliced again. Again the swing met open air. He turned to face me again, but instead of attacking directly, he slowed time around me. I had more resistance to it now, but I still felt like I was moving through syrup. I wouldn't be able to move in time to dodge his next attack.

So I willed vines to entangle him. They wrapped around his arms and legs, and then coiled tightly around his neck. I hardened the vines into stone and continued my struggle to break free of the time slow down. I broke out just as Kronos broke out of my trap.

I blasted him with dark energy, but he merely batted away the blast with his scythe. I rolled in close and tried to stab with my knife. Kronos caught my wrist and made me stab myself. Thanks to my invulnerability, the blade skidded across my skin. I returned with a head butt, which made him stumble back.

Bad idea. Kronos was now out of range of my knife, but I was still well in range of that scythe. He attacked, and the blade sparked off of my face. He followed up by making a stabbing motion with the butt end of his scythe. The blow sent a _crack _through my skull. I felt my jaw heal itself instantly.

Kronos could hurt me, not very seriously, and not for very long, but he could hurt me. This was unexpected. Kronos took a few steps back. I watched as he began to glow a stunning gold.

"Let's try that again," the glowing Kronos said.

I rolled in close and stabbed. The blade pierced his skin, but it was a small victory on my part. Kronos kicked out and sent me flying. He followed up by slicing open my stomach and stabbing me in the shoulder with the point of his scythe.

I stumbled back while tainted ichor, silver blood that results as a mix of mortal and immortal blood, flowed from by wounds. Kronos laughed.

"I bet you didn't see that coming did you Jackson?"

I shadow traveled behind him and tried to stab him in the back. Before I could, Kronos sent an elbow into by bleeding stomach. Before I could even cry out in pain, Kronos spun around and took a slice at my neck. I clutched it to stop the bleeding.

"Come now Jackson, get up. Try to remember when you stood a chance against me. Oh that's right. You never did!"

"Go to Tartarus," I spat.

Kronos laughed and responded, "Been there, done that. I think I'll kill you now."

Thankfully, he let out a loud cry of pain before he could. He turned, and I saw hundreds of silver and gold arrows embedded in his back. He raised his scythe against Artemis and Apollo. Before he could blast them to bits, I shielded them with a wall of vines, wood, and grass. By the time he turned in my direction, I was already at the edge of the wheat field with Artemis and Apollo right behind me. Ignoring the pain I was in, I hoisted the twin archers onto my shoulders and used the speed of Hermes to dart out of there as fast as possible. Behind me, I heard Kronos curse my name.

We jumped into Charon's ferry where the other gods were still waiting. The goddesses looked at me in horror, Hades turned away, and Ares congratulated me on getting my sorry butt whipped.

I looked at Charon and shouted, "Take us out of here!"

Charon merely made the by now infuriating _pft _sound. "I don't see any drachmas on any of you."

I was about o say "Are you kidding me?", but Hades took it form there.

He grabbed Charon by the collar and after shaking his skull loose, he shouted, "If you don't get this boat moving this instant, I will personally dump your ass INTO THE RIVER STYX!"

I had never seen a non-motorized boat move so fast before in my life.

We exited the Underworld in Los Angeles. Or rather, what was left of it. Like New York, many of its most iconic structures had been reduced to ash and rubble.

Artemis looked at me and asked, "What now?"

"We get somewhere safe to think of our next move," I decided.

"And where would that be?" Apollo asked.

I thought about it. There weren't many places on Earth still safe from the Titans. Ogygia was one, but I didn't feel like facing Calypso, and I wasn't even sure I could get back. Last I'd heard Cleveland was still good, but odds were it had fallen to siege. The only other place I knew of was Typhon's Prison, and I still didn't know where the Hades that place was.

"I don't know," I answered Apollo.

Exhausted, we all set up camp for the night.

Annabeth's POV

I finally made it to the exit to the Underworld. Charon was in his boat looking like he'd been threatened with eternity in the Fields of Punishment. Again. When he saw me coming he straightened up. I was Kronos's prime servant while Luke was still out of it, so it got me a decent amount of respect in the world.

"Got the money to get across?" he asked.

"Fields," was all I had to say to get him to take me across. As he rowed away, I heard him mutter something about free loaders in abundance.

I looked out at the ruins of LA. True, I didn't agree with _all _the things the Titans did, like tearing apart all the mortal cities, hunting demigods into extinction and, and enslaving any and all who got in their way. But it's not like I had any other option.

I couldn't join the rebellion. For one they'd shoot me on sight. But the main reason I didn't try to join was because they were hopeless. They lost more people every day, and they'd made no progress since they'd formed. I hadn't even considered thinking of the rebellion for a long time. I only started when…

When Percy showed up. I realized why Kronos wanted Percy dead so badly. Percy didn't lose. He had already done what the rebellion couldn't and freed the gods. Who's to say he couldn't do everything else the rebellion couldn't. Like steal back the weapons of the Big Three from the Titan armory. Or free Iris and restore Iris-messaging to the rebellion. Heck, he would've beaten Kronos a year ago if I hadn't–

Oh Titans. I was the cause of all of this. I'd stopped Percy from defeating Kronos a year ago, and now everything Kronos had done since then was on me. Massive enslavement, destruction of monuments of all kinds, the utter chaos the world had entered was all my fault. Talk about a guilt trip. I hadn't wanted this. Most demigods who joined the Titans had fallen under the spell of Kronos. But I had fallen under Luke's spell. I just wanted to be with Luke. But lately, he'd been distant, and not just because of his injuries.

He was acting like his life had been in vain, and in the end nothing he did would matter. When we kissed, he didn't return it like he used to. It was sadder somehow. He had a look on his face like he was proud of what the future had in store for me, albeit also jealous.

At that moment, I decided I was done with the Titans. I officially declared myelf a double-agent for the rebellion. I was siding with the gods. Or, since Percy was acquiring their powers, a more accurate statement was that I was siding with Percy.

_**Ah the power of guilt. But do you honestly think Percy's just going to say "oh you're on our side now? That's cool, great to have you back."? If you do then you don't know me. No ladies and gents, it's gonna get bloody. Can Percy find his way to Typhon's Prison? Can Annabeth win back Percy's trust? And how the rebellion lasted so long if they're such failures? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	11. Heading Out

_**You guys still want that Percy/Annabeth chat. It still might have to wait. Don't kill me if it's not in this chapter, I'll get to it! So we've hit eleven chapters. This is cool. This story came to me while I was playing Call of Duty and thinking of Percy Jackson. And now it's turned into a hit! The ending of this story will leave you with closure but craving more. The ending of the sequel will leave you heartbroken. Buckle up, because by reading this story, you've unwillingly committed to a long, bumpy, and ultimately wonderful ride.**_

I woke up pretty early the next morning, but Apollo was still up earlier, watching the sunrise. I waked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey thanks back there," I said

"For what?" he asked.

"Well where do I start? You and you're sis saved my life, and let's not forget how you healed me," I reminded him.

"You're still the hero here Percy," he told me.

"How do you know?" I asked. He gave me an incredulous look.

"Right," I said. "God of prophecy and all."

Apollo nodded, and then smiled. Uh-oh. "And music. And poetry. Which reminds me–"

"I'm gonna go check up on everyone else," I interrupted.

The look on Apollo's face said _suit yourself. _Hades and Hera had unintentionally snuggled into each other for warmth. Hermes lay asleep under a tree, alone. Dionysus was passed out in the middle of camp, still clutching an empty flask that smelled suspiciously of grapes. Demeter was lying in the grass looking perfectly content aside from the scar on her face. It took me a while to find Ares and Aphrodite because they wandered off to, uh, talk. Artemis had left earlier, gone to catch breakfast.

I was wondering how Apollo and Artemis would react to me asking for their powers. I wasn't sure about Apollo, but I was pretty sure I'd get a big no from Artemis. She hates guys, and unless I had this gender thing all wrong, I was in fact a guy.

I set that matter aside and thought about how I was going to get to Typhon's Prison. I had no idea how to get there, and Oceanus would just rip us apart the moment we hit the sea. All I knew was Typhon's Prison was somewhere at the bottom of the ocean. That narrowed it down didn't it? _I know where it is. _

I jumped at the sound of that voice in my head. Female, regal, and know-it-all. _Athena? _

_Wonderful he remembers my name. _She responded.

_How do you know where Typhon's Prison is? _I asked.

_Because I'm standing in it right now. _My head spun. Athena had gone missing the day the other gods were imprisoned. Now I was hearing her voice in my head and she was telling me she could help me.

_Where is it? _Somehow I knew things wouldn't be this easy. There was a catch. Dealing with gods always had a catch.

_I will tell you, on one condition. _Told you. _You will use the same raft you used to get back to America, but you must expand it. You must add a rear wing to the raft. You are to not go into the rear wing under any circumstances until you reach Typhon's Prison. Understand?_

_Yes mom. _I thought sarcastically.

_Not yet I'm not Jackson. Not yet I'm not._

That was the end of my conversation with the wisdom goddess. So I had to build a rear wing to the raft I'd used to get here. There were a few problems with that. It was a raft. If I was going to add a rear wing, I'd first have to make a front one. Athena basically wanted me to turn the raft into a boat with two separate wings below deck. That should be easy. No, the hard part would be getting to the raft, which I'd left in New York harbor at the opposite end of the country.

"What the–" I heard Hera call out. I'm guessing she woke up.

"OW!" Hades shouted. "Hey what did I do?"

"Ugh, what now you two?" Demeter asked.

"Hades tried to rape me!" Hera shouted.

"I did not!" Hades defended. "I just woke up and found HER using my chest as a pillow!"

"I was so not doing that! I'd rather use a rock as a– OW! Hermes what was that for?"

Hermes shrugged. "You said you'd prefer a rock."

"Will you all just be quiet?" I shouted.

"NO!" They all yelled back at me.

I roared and accidentally made the ground underneath us shake. They all shut up after that. No one said a word until Artemis came back with food. Over her shoulders she had slung a small deer. I wasn't impressed. She was the goddess of the hunt and all she could catch was one deer?

"It would've been easier if I still had my full powers," she commented at me.

"You didn't give me your powers. Did you?" I asked.

I swear if one more person makes that _pft _sound at me I will throttle them. "Boys are so dense," Artemis mumbled.

"Go ahead," she said, tossing me her bow and an arrow. "Try it."

I sucked at archery. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if my arrow tip was touching the barn before I even fired. Seriously I'd tried that. I must've notched the arrow wrong or something, because my arrow went backwards and got stuck in Annabeth's hair. I must've apologized about a million times, but I still go the worst beating of my life. Ah, good times.

Anyway, I notched an arrow and looked around for something easy to shoot. I didn't want to torture any wood nymphs, but there was nothing to shoot but trees. Artemis cleared her throat and pointed up at a flock of birds. I aimed and fired. My arrow fell to the ground with three birds speared through it.

I felt another jolt of power flow through me. On a hunch, I turned around and sure enough, I saw Apollo looking a lot less godly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Though I hate to admit it Perseus," Artemis said, "you are the only hope of Olympus, so you're going to need all the power you can get. Especially considering what happen last time you fought Kronos."

I rubbed my neck where I still had a scar. Okay so I'd gotten my sorry butt kicked. But now I only had four more Olympians to rescue until I had all their powers. I'd like to see Kronos pound me then. At that moment, my stomach started to feel like I'd just chugged a gallon of acid. My eye sockets felt like my retinas were on fire. I struggled to breathe for a second, and then the pain receded.

Once everyone was back at camp and I told them all what Athena had told me. Some of the gods groaned. Hermes, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

"Road trip!" He shouted. "Oh yeah! I always wanted to travel cross country."

"Don't you do that all the time?"

"I meant not on business," he corrected himself.

"Well," Artemis said, "We've got a stop to make before we head for New York."

"Where?" I asked.

"Mount St. Helens," she stated. "Hephaestus is imprisoned underneath it."

Annabeth's POV

I hid back behind the bush. I knew I couldn't just follow them across the country. For one Percy would kill me if he saw me. For another, Kronos would get suspicious. The whole idea of being a double agent is _not _raising suspicion. I knew where they were headed though. Mount St. Helens, prison of Hephaestus. I could help them get Hephaestus out, but it would have to be without them noticing. My mind came up with a plan pretty easily.

I walked away from Percy's camp, careful not to alert them that I was here. I went back into the Underworld and eventually found my way to the Door of Orpheus. Luke was waiting for me there.

"Annabeth!" he shouted. "Titans, I've been so worried."

I managed to pull away from his hug and rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine Luke, but I need to get back to Kronos's palace," I explained.

"What is it?" he asked.

I couldn't tell Luke what I was about to do, because I wasn't sure if his loyalties still lay with Kronos. Even so, I told him what I needed to tell him so I could help Percy.

"I need some fast transport," I told him. "I've found Percy."

_**So Percy and Annabeth still haven't talked yet, don't kill me! *takes sniper bullet to the shoulder* Crap! I said don't kill me! I know this chapter was boring but I needed to post it to bridge the gap to the awesome in the next chapter. Besides I've already posted today so this is a bonus. Meh! What does Annabeth plan on doing now? Why is Athena asking Percy to do something completely ridiculous? What surprises await them on Mount St Helens? Tune in next time to find out! **_


	12. Sabotage

_**The story continues, things get a little more complicated. Not all the gods are going to give up their powers so easily. Expect challenges, side quests, heart to heart chats, battles, spying, anonymous help, doubt, more battles, more heart to heart chats, and so on and so fourth. As I said before, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. This chapter is mainly in Annabeth's POV, which is a change for this story. Oh well. Review once you finish read this even if you have to post anonymously!**_

Annabeth's POV

Blackjack pulled another unnecessary dive, nearly sending me flying off. He whined, but eventually he settled into a semi-steady flying pattern.

"Could you _not _do that please?" I asked him. Big mistake.

He shook himself violently, and for a scary second I fell off the saddle. But before I started falling, my hand grabbed onto Blackjack and held on for dear life. I pulled myself back up with a grunt.

"Hey I saved you from being turned into pegasus soup! The least you could do is not try to kill me," I reminded him. He grunted, but kept flying.

I blew a strand of hair out of my eyes and sighed. "Look, like I told you before, we're doing this for Percy. Does that make you not want me dead?"

Blackjack grunted. Gods I wished Percy was here. I don't speak horse. So I took a wild guess at what Blackjack had said and responded.

"No he didn't ask me too but–"

Blackjack cut me off with more horse noises I didn't understand. Again I took a guess at what he'd said.

"I know he still hates me, but I'm sorry for what I did. And now–"

Blackjack cut me off again, and I could've sworn at some point I heard him say _pft. _

"You think I don't know that?" I cried, tears suddenly in my eyes. "Yes, the world was destroyed and it's all my fault. My best friend hates me because I tried to kill him, and all my other friends are DEAD! So thank you Blackjack. Thank you for reminding me that I'm a terrible person!"

Maybe it was my imagination, but Blackjack seemed to fly a lot less rough after that.

After a while, we reach Mount St. Helens. I told Blackjack to swoop down low enough for me to jump, and he did. I slapped on my invisibility hat and jumped. I landed somewhere in the volcano, surrounded my Telkhines. Carefully, I crept toward the forging area where I thought there might be fewer monsters.

Three Telkhines were in the forging area, working on something I couldn't see until they held up. It was a four foot long compact trident with god-level explosive points.

"Careful," one of them warned. "Drop it and you'll cause an explosion big enough to blast the smith god free."

The other two Telkhines shivered. They obviously weren't in the mood to let Hephaestus escape. I was tempted to make them drop it, and Probably would've if I were Seaweed Brain, but I knew an explosion that big would probably kill me too. So I waited until they placed the trident down before I tore them to shreds with Riptide.

I picked up the trident and took it with me, a plan already forming in my head. I killed about forty Telkhines as I traveled through the mountain. I felt like some kind of ninja assassin.

But I wasn't here to kill Telkhines; I was here to help Percy before he even showed up. I carefully made my way to the prison of Hephaestus, where he struggled with his chains under the magma. I held the trident above the lava, and said a silent prayer Athena that I wouldn't be killed in the explosion that followed. I dropped the trident in and ran like my life depended on it…because it did.

The explosion sent me face first into the ground and my invisibility cap fell off. A nearby Telkhine saw me and raised his spear. We fought for a second and a half, but then one of his buddies called out: "Intruders approaching! Ten of them, headed this way!"

I sliced through the monster while he was distracted. I scooped up my hat and ran for the exit, calling out to Blackjack. He dived down and I leaped on just in time. As we flew away, I saw Percy and nine depowered gods storming Mount St. Helens. Three of them, Artemis, Apollo, and Percy, were shooting volley after volley of arrows as they made their approach. The other gods and goddesses had their swords and spears ready.

That's when something awful happened. In the middle of his charge, Percy suddenly cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

"Percy!" I instinctively shouted. A monster took advantage of his momentary weakness and raised a sword. I couldn't see where the monster was aiming, but I threw Riptide anyway, which sailed through the air.

Percy's POV

I was shooting a volley of arrows as we made our charge. For some reason, the Telkhines were acting like a bomb had gone off, which only made this easier. The other gods that didn't have bows and arrows raised the swords and spears I'd conjured up for them. True it was risky to use raw godly energy like that but I–

I cried out in pain when I suddenly felt like my heart had exploded. My arms and legs felt like they'd been flash frozen and then thawed all in sixty seconds. Before the pain passed, a Telkhine raised his sword. I could tell from the angle that his blade would strike me in the small of my back, my one weak spot.

At the same moment the pain cleared, a flash of Celestial bronze sailed in front of my face. I looked at the Telkhine and saw a sword jutting from its chest. The sword looked familiar. The monster turned to dust and the sword disappeared.

_What the heck?_

Annabeth's POV

Riptide reappeared in my hand. I loved how it did that. When this was all over, I would give Percy back his sword. And take my knife back thank you very much. As I flew away, a voice entered my head. It stayed only long enough to utter one, single, comforting sentence.

_That's my girl._

When I got back to Kronos, I reported my mission a failure. I told him Percy had gotten to the mountain before I had and that he'd broken Hephaestus out before I got there. That got me slammed against the wall a few times and slashed with a scythe, but I thought it was worth it. Hephaestus was free, and Percy was one step closer to saving Olympus. Blackjack was free, I'd let him go and told him to follow Percy, but without being seen.

I was pretty hopeful for the future really. Once Percy had all the Olympians' powers, he could beat Kronos and then everything would go back to normal. And now I was helping. It made me feel good inside. Even so at night, when I slept, I heard a voice that would keep telling me:

_Do you really think he trusts you? Do you think he'll _ever _trust you? You'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you on sight! If he was anyone else, you'd be dead._

_If he was anyone else, I'd still be with Kronos._

_What do you call tending his hearth and running his errands? _

_Shut up. _I would tell it.

_**So yes, Annabeth is on the path to redemption. She just needs to convince Percy of that. Yeah that'll be easy. What will happen when and if Percy reached Typhon's Prison? How can Percy and Annabeth have "a talk" when he's at the bottom of the ocean? And just how stressful is it traveling across the former USA with ten depowered, teenaged gods of Olympus? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	13. Set Sail

_**I really need to watch those typos. So yes with only three gods to go you may think this story is coming to close very soon. As if! No, it'll soon be time for my favorite author's trick: throw in another side mission that slows down and distracts the hero! Don't look at me like that you guys probably do it to. Oh you don't? Just me? Well then. I guess *BANG! This is the United States military! Come out now or we will open fire!* Crap, not again. Gotta run!**_

_**Transmitting next chapter:**_

"Run!" I shouted to the other gods. "Run and don't look back!"

I turned and kicked away a Hydra head that got too close for comfort. I wrestled it to the ground, stabbing it but not cutting of the heads. A volley of arrows embedding in the Hydra's side.

I jumped back, firing flaming arrows to cover my retreat. The Hydra still advanced. I summoned a few undead warriors to back us up, and another volley of arrows hit their mark.

"Artemis I told you to go!" I shouted.

Instead of responding, she fired off another stream of arrows. I figured she was going anywhere, so I turned my attention to the Hydra. Artemis and I fired another storm of arrows, but this time they were dissolved by the acid spit. I really wish I had something other that a knife and a limitless supply of sun and moon arrows to fight with. Wait a minute. Using the power of Hephaestus, I pulled on my knife blade and formed it into a three foot long sword. That was cool.

I charged the Hydra with blinding speed and slashed three of its heads off. Six more grew back by the time I slashed off the other four. After rolling backward to dodge acid, I was looking at a fourteen headed Hydra. Oops.

I threw my sword and readied a flaming arrow. As soon as the sword lopped off a head, I fired and burned the neck stump. One down, thirteen to go. The Hydra fired another river of acid, which would have killed Artemis if I had risen up a tree to shield her from the blast.

I combined multiple powers of Apollo. Loud music and light from the sun to make a god-level flash bang.

"Cover your ears!" I shouted and threw the flash grenade.

While the Hydra was stunned, I alternately sliced off heads and burned them with fire arrows. By the time the Hydra came to its senses, it only had one head left. I fired two more arrows. One cut off the head, and the other burned the stump.

"He's down," I called out to the other gods who had run off.

Ares was the first one to say something. "How much longer till we reach New York? This is getting old."

I looked up at the night sky, trying to read them like a map. I couldn't. Thankfully, Hera could.

"I'd say we're somewhere in Pennsylvania. We're getting close."

"You said the same thing in Utah," Hermes complained. "How close is close?"

"Roughly one-hundred and seventy two miles," Hera said. "Happy?"

Hermes groaned. "No."

Two days, one-hundred and seventy-two miles, five run-ins with monsters, and about a million bathroom breaks later, we reached New York. That was where we split up. Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hermes went o find food. There weren't many trees that I could make give us fruit in New York. Hephaestus, Ares, and I went looking for supplies to remodel the raft like Athena had told us to. Artemis, Apollo, and Dionysus were on recon duty, keeping an eye out for monsters that might get in our way.

I found a lot of broken pieces of wood we could use, plus some sheet metal and some cloth to make a bigger sail. We of course, made Ares do most of the heavy lifting, and in the end his was carrying twice his weight in building materials. We set up camp near the raft and got to work. About and hour later Demeter and the others arrived with some cans off food and a few pieces of fruit. Hermes had also somehow snagged a few bags of candy.

Ares took a break to eat and so did Hephaestus. I kept working, using Hephaestus's powers to get the job done pretty easily. I was just attaching the new sail when my brain felt like it was shoving its way down into my feet. My body shook violently and sweat poured down my face. I heard my heart hammering in my chest, and my vision started to go red. My breathing turned into hyperventilating, and I was sure my lungs were being dipped in boiling acid.

The veins on my neck and arms bulged. My body glowed gold for a fraction of a second, and then the pain subsided. I clutched my stomach, because it still hurt. This was getting bad. If I didn't fight and beat Kronos soon, I'd be burned to ashes by the excess power inside of me. It was pretty depressing.

At times when you come to terms with your own mortality, one of two things happens. You either have a million thoughts run through your head and you get over whelmed by your own thoughts, or one single thought enters your head and your mind goes blank. For me, the one thought was: _Annabeth, where are you? _

My mind went blank for a bit, and I just spent my time staring at the ground. But whatever controls this world is determined to keep me from having a personal moment, because at that moment everything went to Hades.

"Hey has anyone seen Artemis, Apollo, or Dionysus?" Hermes asked.

I looked up. Sure enough, they were no where to be found. I was freaking out. Gods, if they were hurt…

A huge explosion sounded off in the distance, followed by a loud roar. I pulled out my sword/knife and stood up. Some of the other gods stood up too, but I motioned for them to sit down.

"Stay here and finish the boat," I told them. "If I'm right we're gonna need it. Soon too."

Hephaestus stood up first. "Alright you heard him. Let's move!"

While they got to work, I sprinted off in the direction of the explosions and roars. A mile later, I got blasted off my feet by a burst of Greek fire. When I recollected my wits, I was staring at five _dracaenae_ and my old pal the Nemean Lion.

The _dracaenae _readied their Greek fire bombs, but two of them disintegrated and another turned to deal with Dionysus in a sword fight. While they fought, I killed the other two _dracaenae _and wrestled the Nemean Lion. Both of us were invulnerable, so nobody got hurt until I caught it in a net of vines. I commanded the vines to pry open the lion's mouth. The mouth slowly opened, and I fired and arrow into its mouth. It slumped over dead.

Dionysus finished off his opponent and made the by now infuriating _pft _sound at me. "You know, we had this under control."

"Shut up," I told him.

We walked back to camp, making good time. _Not so fast Percy. _A voice spoke into my head.

_What now? _I thought.

_Sorry Percy, but I can't have you getting back to the others just yet. _Athena told me. I had a bad feeling about this.

The first thing that happened was the Nemean Lion got back up. Okay this was insane. _Come on! I know you hate me, but still._

_It's nothing personal Percy. I just need to give her more time._

Annabeth's POV

The gods finished the ship by the time I'd shown up. Carefully, as my mother had instructed, I snuck onto it and down into the rear wing. I came within a centimeter of brushing against Aphrodite, but I made it.

Percy still hadn't shown up from his rescue mission, and I started to get worried. Just as I decided to get back off the ship and go find him, I heard him scream to the others: "Go, go, go! Keep moving!"

The ship started moving, and I felt four people jump on. I heard the sound of a lion roaring and claws scratching the side of the ship. But that was it. I never once took off my invisibility hat, but I really didn't need it. They never once came into the rear wing. Percy would always sleep by the door that connected the two wings. My favorite thing to do at night was listening to what he'd say in his sleep.

Cheesy, I know, but I was alone in a ship with nothing to do. So I'd just listen to him talk in his sleep. And I swear the coolest moments were when he would murmur my name.

_***Jumps off building and lands in passenger seat of random car* You! Drive! *What? Who the–* Just drive! Oh hey where was I when the military busted in? Oh yeah. Who is waiting for Percy and the gang in Typhon's Prison? Will Percy discover his stowaway? And how long has Percy got until his god powers kill him? Tune in next time to– Crud. RPG! Look out!**_

_**Signal Lost. Transmission Interrupted.**_


	14. Reunion

_**Well, I think I lost 'em. I know you guys are gonna kill me, but Percy and Annabeth are not going to have their much anticipated fight/talk until after Percy rescues Zeus. When is that you may ask? I will tell nothing. I will, however, give you another chapter to keep you occupied.**_

Most sane people would not sail near the Sea of Monsters, but most sane people are not named Percy Jackson. I on the other hand, am. So I steered the ship straight for the center. Of course though, getting there wouldn't be easy. Charybdis and Scylla were waiting for us as we approached. I steered the ship toward Scylla a pretty bad plan in my head. Before anyone could blink, Scylla darted out, trying to snatch up Dionysus. I was just half a second faster thanks to the power of Hermes.

I managed to grab onto Scylla, which wasn't a very good idea. I was tossed through the air and was flung toward Charybdis. As I fell, I heard one of the goddesses scream: "Percy!" Right before I lost sight of the ship, I saw Athena stretching her hand out in my direction. I grabbed onto a tooth in Charybdis's mouth to stop myself from being swallowed whole. I fired a few dozen arrows into its mouth, but nothing happened.

In desperation, I fired a blast of godly energy. Charybdis was incinerated, but I fell into the ocean feeling like I was having a stroke, heart attack, and seizure at the same time. Okay, bad idea using pure godly energy, but I was desperate. If it weren't for the ocean and powers of Apollo healing me, I would've died that day.

While I was under water, I could just make out an underwater city made up of five transparent domes. The fifth dome, the middle one, was larger than the others by a lot. In the middle of that dome, I could see Typhon's form struggling against his chains. Typhon's Prison. We'd made it.

Annabeth's POV

I saw Percy blast Charybdis to bits, and then sink into the ocean. I slapped my cap back on to prevent the other gods from noticing me. Hermes was steering away from Scylla as fast as the ship could take us. Scylla lashed out again, smashing her head against the boat causing it to thrash violently. So violently, in fact, I was thrown off the boat and into ocean along with everyone else. I clamped my hands to my head to make sure my hat didn't fall off.

Percy swam up to meet us and encased us all in an air bubble. I held my breath, praying to every god who wasn't in this bubble with me that they wouldn't notice me. Percy even brushed against my shoulder, but thankfully he didn't notice. We finally descended to the entrance of Typhon's Prison, where to demigods manned harpoon turrets that were currently trained on us. At least until they saw who we were. Or rather, who everyone but me was. If they had seen me, odds were they'd of blasted us.

We entered one of the domes. Inside it was full of tents, weapons, and battle scarred rebels. Apparently the rebellion wasn't choosy about who joined them. I saw demigods, satyrs, Cyclopes, mortals, wood nymphs, harpies, you name it.

Two demigods walked off to relieve the people on turret duty. The two demigods who had been relieved ditched their underwater suits and rushed over to meet Percy and the others.

"Percy!" Nico said, shrugging off his diving suit. "You made it!"

They slapped each other a high-five, and the other demigod, a sixteen year-old girl with black hair, hugged Percy. When they separated, I saw she had fierce blue eyes.

"Oh my gods Percy!" Thalia shouted. "Grover and Nico told me you were okay but, wow it's good to see you!"

"Good to see you too Thalia," Percy said. "Say, by any chance is Tyson–"

"PERCY!" someone screamed. "You are not dead."

Tyson grabbed Percy in a fierce bear hug, lifting him off his feet. I watched this reunion from a distance. If I hadn't been on the wrong side as far as they cared, I would've been enjoying this with them. It felt great to see everyone again, but at the same time depressing because I couldn't say hi without someone trying to kill me.

"Tyson," Percy gasped. "Ribs. I need to breathe."

Tyson released Percy, and he fell back to the ground, landing on his feet. Tyson hadn't changed much. Thalia hadn't either, being immortal and all. Nico was, well, Nico. Didn't matter that he was taller, more muscular, or more attractive than ever, he was still that dark, distant, and strangely funny guy I knew.

"Dude, you're alive!" someone else shouted.

"Grover!" Percy yelled.

Grover gave him a "man-hug" and laughed. "Ok, I knew you busted out the five from Tartarus, but where'd you get everyone else?"

"Hitchhikers," Percy joked. "What are you gonna do?"

Hermes laughed at that one.

"Perseus," a voice called.

We all turned to look at my mom, dressed in Greek battle armor and brandishing a shield with an owl etched onto the front. She walked over to Percy and hefted her shield to the side so she didn't look as menacing.

"Well Percy, you've made it. Now, come with me, and bring the others. We have much to discuss."

Percy's POV

We toured the base/prison. One of the domes was basically a giant underwater green house that housed the trees of all the wood nymphs. Another dome served as training grounds for the army. Athena explained we would _not _be going into the dome that housed Typhon for security reasons. We reached the forth and final dome. It was full of tents, but these looked more like command tents rather than living ones. In the center of it all was a hearth, and tending it was none other than Hestia.

But the really surprising thing was that helping Hestia with the hearth was none other than Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Oh. My. Gods.

"Rachel?" I asked incredulously.

She looked up at me and her eyes widened. "PERCY?"

She ran over and hugged me fiercely. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as fierce as a Tyson-style-I-haven't-seen-you-in-a-year-and-I-thought-you-might-be-dead hug, so my ribs held.

Athena cleared her throat and motioned for me to follow her into one of the command tents. Inside I found a meeting table, and sitting around it were Hera, Hades, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Demeter, Grover, Thalia, Tyson, Rachel, Hestia, and Athena. There were two empty chairs. I was about to sit in one when Athena scowled and told me to sit in the other available seat.

_Geez it's not like anybody else was sitting there. _But I kept my mouth shut and sat down as directed.

"Percy, as you may have guessed, the rebellion isn't exactly going so well," Athena began.

I nodded. The rebellion constantly taking casualties, and recruitment was down to zero. As far as I'd heard, they'd had a total of five successful missions all year. Nico's recon assignment to the Underworld, Thalia's raid on Prometheus's slave house, Clarisse's assault on the weapons shipment from Mount St. Helens, Athena's jailbreak of the Cyclopes, and Chris's sabotage of Oceanus's sonar station. That was it.

"However, we believe that we've found a way to turn the tide of the war," Athena explained.

I raised an eyebrow. What could they possibly have found that could help them win?

"You, Perseus," Athena said, noticing my confusion. Before I could protest, she went on. "You've already done what we could not. You've freed several of the gods from their prisons. You have but two more gods to free and of course my own powers to acquire, before you are ready to face Kronos. But, we need a bit more than that."

"I beat Kronos," I said. "That pretty much ends that right?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "You caught the Titan lord by surprise before Percy, but now he'll have doubled security on Zeus and Poseidon. If we're going to save our fathers, we'll need to be more organized."

I sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. How exactly do we become more organized, and what does this have to do with me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Athena asked. "You're going to free Iris so she can restore Iris-messaging for the rebellion. Your team is assembled and ready when you are. Head to the deployment dome. You're headed for the Fields of Punishment."

"Oh," I said, trying not to sound as dumb as I knew I was. "Well, who exactly is this team you're talking about?"

"Are you ready or not Jackson?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I spun around to face Clarisse, and Chris standing behind her with her arms folded.

I stood up and walked out of the tent with Clarisse and Chris in tow. We reached the deployment dome when Athena ran up to us, panting. Huh, she didn't look as god like anymore. As a matter of fact, depowered, she looked so much like Annabeth I almost punched her in the face. Had she given me her powers without me noticing? I didn't feel any wiser.

"Ath… I forgot to give you this," Athena told me. She handed me a file folder, filled with a bunch of papers written ancient Greek so that yours truly could read them. "This file contains all our knowledge on the Fields of Punishment's security measures."

I flipped through the files. It had maps of guard patrols, positions of Greek fire landmines, and Intel on pretty much anything else that would ordinarily kill us.

"Thanks," I told her.

What happened next almost gave me a heart attack. She kissed me on the cheek and whispered, "Good luck Seaweed Brain."

As we walked toward the exit, one thing ran through my mind. I had just been punked. There was no way that was Athena. But, who else could it be?

_**Hmm… looks like next chapter will be about busting Iris out of the slammer. What obstacles await them in the Fields of Punishment? Was that even Athena? And if not, who was it? Tune in next time to find out!.**_


	15. Further Strain

_**So sorry for not updating yesterday, but CIA actually caught and imprisoned me. Don't ask how I got out, the less you know the better. Alright I'm gonna go ahead and address a few problems a questions found in the reviews lately. This chapter will be longer, explain why/how Annabeth uses Riptide, hopefully not ruin Percabeth (ugh, did I really just type that?), and still contain action. **_

Riding in an air bubble from the bottom of the ocean to New York isn't the most fun thing I've ever done. Throw in Clarisse and Chris blabbing all the way, and it just plain sucks. Well, not all the blabbing was boring.

Instead of a sword, Chris was using these magic revolvers that fired Celestial bronze bullets and reloaded when he spun them in his hand. He'd gotten them as a souvenir during Clarisse's assault on the weapons shipment.

"Gods, now that was a great day," he said, smiling.

"Oh wipe that look off you're face," Clarisse glared.

Chris spun the revolver in his hand. Clarisse place her hand on her sword hilt. I took several steps back. They both took a step closer to each other, hands not leaving their weapons. They took another step, and then another. Just before I decided it was time to push them apart, Clarisse let go of her sword and Chris dropped the revolver. What happened next made me look away. I groaned louder than I meant to, so they pulled apart.

"What are you looking at?" Clarisse asked me.

I quickly turned away from the two. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Looking outside the air bubble transport we were using (hey it beat being magically teleported by the minor gods and Athena) I saw something that temporarily chilled my blood.

I exited the air bubble and drew my knife. On command, it extended into a full sword. I love having the powers of Hephaestus. How else could I have rigged the knife to extend into a sword when it registered my thought commands?

"Percy Jackson, son of the sea god, failure of Olympus," Oceanus greeted.

"Oceanus," I responded, "Titan of the sea, whack job of Mount Othrys."

"Watch the remarks boy," Oceanus warned. "Your daddy isn't here to protect you anymore."

The mention of my dad made me feel angry and guilty. He was being forced to hold up the sky on Mount Tam, and I had been in California for a portion of my road trip. Yet I hadn't gone to save him. Some hero I was. But I would save him soon, and right now I was going to make Oceanus eat his words.

"Don't you dare bring my father into this," I warned.

"Or what?" Oceanus scoffed.

"This," I said, and slashed a cut in his arm with my sword.

He staggered back surprised but not really hurt. He willed the currents to attack me, and I did my best to hold them back. It was no use, though. He had stronger control over the ocean. I was buffeted and tossed around by the currents. I had to level the playing field somehow.

With everything I had, I managed to slow the currents around me enough to swim for surface. I leaped out of the water and stood there. Walking on water rules. My friends swam to the surface, gasping for air.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"Behind you!" Chris shouted.

I turned in time to get sucker-punched by Oceanus. I skidded across the water like a skipping stone. Gaining my balance back with a back flip, I shot toward Oceanus like I was a jet ski, skimming across the water without even taking a step. I turned sharply, and sent a crest of waves hitting him in the face. I stopped moving for a bit, and just stood there, goading Oceanus into making the next move.

"Come back here and fight coward!" Oceanus cried out in anger.

"Why don't you come out here and get me Barnacle B****?" I shot back.

Oh that got him mad. He sped forward just like I had, skimming across the water like a jet ski. As he approached, he drew a five foot long sword out of thin air. True I could do that too if I wanted, but using pure godly energies is liable to get me killed at this point. I waited for him to get closer. He closed the gap to thirty feet…then twenty…ten.

In one fluid motion, I dodged to the side and slice with my knife. A cut appeared on Oceanus's shoulder. He turned to face me, and I smiled.

"Care to try again?" I goaded.

Instead of attacking, he waved his hand. At first, nothing happened, but then a deep, loud call filled my ears. Something enormous leaped clear out of the water. It was a blue whale, fully grown at one hundred feet in length, weighing about one hundred and fifty tons. And it was flying right towards me, propelled by jets of water Oceanus controlled.

I braced my self and did something that amazed me. I caught the whale. With a cry a pure will, I stood back up to full height and hurled the whale back at Oceanus. I looked at my hands in time to see the red aura of Ares fading away. The whale hit Oceanus smack dab in the face. I lost track of him for a minute.

That was a big mistake. The water erupted next to me, and Oceanus shot out like a rocket, sword drawn. I spun around and parried his strike. I sped away on the water. Oceanus came after me. Our swords clashed again and again. It was like fighting while roller skating at high-speeds across the ocean. Oceanus turned sharply away, blinding me with the wave that hit me in the face. When my vision cleared, I saw the flash of his sword just before I went skipping across the water again.

I fired off several arrows while I still had the advantage of distance. Several hit their mark, getting an _oof _out of him every time. I grew a huge tree right out of the ocean floor, raising it until it breached the surface and surrounded it self around Oceanus. He twisted and writhed while the branches wrapped themselves around him. Calling on the power of Hephaestus, lord of the forges and fire, I sent a blast of flame at the tree, setting it ablaze and Oceanus with it. I huge column of water rose up, extinguishing the flame.

Oceanus advanced, still smoking from the fire. He raised his sword, but I reacted fast enough to slice his wrist and make him drop his sword. He sped backward, putting distance between me and him. Before I could start firing more arrows, he raised a huge tidal wave, about three hundred stories tall, halfway to Olympus, if it was still there.

I froze. Son of Poseidon or not, invulnerable or not, this was going to–

A crack filled the air, followed by five more. Six neat little bullet holes had appeared on Oceanus's face. In shock, Oceanus dropped the tidal wave on himself. I shot forward and, just as he saw me coming, sliced his head clean off. He wasn't dead, but he certainly wouldn't be bugging me for a while.

I stopped walking on water and casually swam back to Clarisse and Chris. Chris's revolver was still smoking. He spun it, and I heard a _click _indicating it had reloaded. We reached New York without any further complications.

But once we were in New York, things once again got complicated. The door of Orpheus now had Ladon himself guarding it. Clarisse drew her sword, but Chris stopped her. They both looked at me. I close my eyes and tried to make the earth swallow Ladon whole. Instead, pain shot out from my chest, threatening to send me into a coma. I kept trying while the pain worsened. I started coughing up tainted ichor, but I kept trying, which probably only made things worse. Finally, just as I felt my lungs shriveling into nothing, the earth opened up a massive crack, and Ladon fell in. I closed the crack and collapsed, letting the pain consume me.

My heartbeat turned into a violent stab in my chest, my blood felt like venom and fire. My muscles had minds of their own, shaking in violent spasms one second and locking up with immobility the next. I eyes felt like they were being barbecued. I started hyperventilating. Sweat poured down my face. Somewhere in my head, I knew this was the end.

Annabeth's POV

I spent most of my time in the tent my mom had set up for me, because I got tired of wearing my hat twenty-four seven. Athena visited from time to time, but as leader of the rebellion, she didn't have much free time. I guess today was one of those lucky days, because Athena walked in to pay me a visit.

"Hello Annabeth," she greeted.

"Hey," I replied.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"I miss everyone," I admitted. "And what makes it worse is their right here in Typhon's Prison, and I can't go near them because they'll try to kill me."

"I see," she said. "So that's why you still use his sword."

In a reflex I'd inadvertently developed, my hand went to my pocket where Riptide was kept.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "When Percy went to Ogygia, he took my knife with him. I needed a new weapon, so I took Riptide."

"Oh really?" Athena asked. "And how exactly is that possible if the weapon always returns to Percy?"

That sent chills up my spine, because how I'd acquired Riptide was not my favorite memory. Besides, my mom probably already knew the answer. She was going somewhere with this, so I played along.

"When I…turned on Percy, he came so close to death it fooled the magic that linked him to Riptide. The connection was severed, so after Kronos took over I had Hecate manipulate the magic a bit so it returned to me," I explained.

"After which, Kronos tried to capture her," I added. "That's why she came here."

"Annabeth, you where Kronos's most important non-immortal servant. You could have had any weapon you wanted, yet you chose the sword. Why?"

"Because of her heart," someone else said.

We both turned to face Aphrodite, in all her depowered beauty. I gasped, because now Aphrodite knew that I was here. She didn't seem like she was mad at me or wanting to kill me though, so I guess she believed I was on their side now.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I don't like Percy."

Aphrodite nodded. "You're absolutely right Annabeth," she paused.

We waited for a moment for her to continue. That was a big mistake. I should've just thanked Aphrodite for not killing me and excused her.

"You love him!" she shrieked happily.

"WHAT?" my mother and I shouted at the same time.

"Oh don't you even try to deny it," Aphrodite said. "An entire year you served Kronos. Then, Percy shows up, and _poof, _you defect to the good side. Coincidence?"

"Yes," I lied.

"Oh come on, if it weren't for Percy, you'd still be slicing up stray demigods and plotting your next act against the rebellion with Luke," Aphrodite said.

I was about to deny it, but she wasn't done yet.

"You're back in the right because the love of your life swooped in and showed you the error of your ways. Oh, this is sooo romantic!" she squealed.

"The love of my–?" I stammered. Oh why oh why did the goddess of love have to know I was back?

"Oh don't try to deny it even your mother knows it," she stated.

I looked at Athena, who looked away. Oh no. This isn't happening. I _can't _be in love with Percy. Because if I am, I'm not just forbidden by circumstances to see my best friend, I'm forbidden to see the one I love. And that thought was just heart breaking.

Athena put a hand on my shoulder. I must've looked sadder than I thought.

"Annabeth, if he has the powers of Aphrodite, he'll see that you do really…enjoy his company. If it really is that important to you, I think you should talk to him," she advised.

I laughed a little. My mom was still refusing to say Percy and love in the same sentence. So yes, I decided that once I got the chance, I would talk to Percy, and tell him everything.

_**Don't get your hopes up Annabeth, Percy may be suffering from I'm-dead-now-itus. Will Percy survive his latest quest? Are Clarisse and Chris going to help, or just get in the way? Can Annabeth get a chance to talk to Percy? Tune in next time to find out! **_


	16. Seperated

_**I'm currently writing to you from the inside of an oversized bottle of mustard. Just, don't ask. I think I'm going to have to fake my death. Again. That'll get them to leave me alone. Special note: this chapter features my own OC antagonist...who will die. Enough of my rambling. Here's the next chapter. (Review or I'll trick the CIA into thinking you're me).**_

__"Percy shut it down!" Chris shouted. "Shut it down!"

The pain was overcoming my every sensation. I didn't know how I could still think. I was fighting to breathe. Fighting to keep my heart beating, even though every beat felt like a stab.

"Shut! It! Down!" Chris shouted again.

I closed my eyes and focused every ounce as energy I had into shutting down the god powers. My whole body started to glow. I concentrated harder, desperate now. The glow stopped, and the pain decreased into a dull pain in my chest and a mild headache. Clarisse's face flashed with worry for about three quarters of a nanosecond, and Chris looked at me in horror.

I stood up shakily, my head still spinning. I looked first at Chris, then Clarisse. "Well what are you two just standing around for? We've got a goddess to save."

Clarisse nodded. "Jackson's got a point," she admitted.

Chris just looked at us with his mouth hanging open. Clarisse grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him until he started walking.

As we walked through the Underworld, Chris fell behind. I looked back to see him going through the files Athena had given us. He looked up at me.

"Percy, have you even gone through these files?" Chris asked.

"I've…skimmed them," I defended.

"Well what do they say?" Clarisse asked.

"Titan forces have gone down by as much as two-thirds in the last year. If they're taking that many casualties, how the heck could they be keeping up with the rebellion? If these numbers are right, we're about even," Chris explained.

"So, all the talk about the rebellion being doomed to fail was a lie?" I asked.

"Not exactly," Chris continued. "Casualties maintained a steady and slow rate until about the last few days when–"

"I showed up," I finished.

Clarisse raised an eyebrow. Chris gave me a look that said _not bad Jackson. _ I just stared into space, thinking about how I'd single-handedly tipped the scales. I was dangerous.

We reached the Fields of Punishment without any real trouble. A monster or two, but nothing Chris-the-quick-draw couldn't handle in less than three seconds. But when we hit the entrance, Clarisse raised her hand for us to stop. She held her hand out, and Chris handed her the map that showed all the traps in the Fields of Punishment.

"Anything getting in our way?" I asked.

She nodded and handed Chris the map again. "Some security guard, special armaments, nothing we can't handle."

But of course, she was wrong. A whistle hit my ears just as Chris and Clarisse fell to the ground with arrows jutting out of them. These were weird arrows. Instead of normal points, they had injector needles. The tubes that held the poison had a light green coating on them.

The archer stepped out, smiling. "Gorgon blood. Most effect poison in existence. Name's Argis, son of Apollo. You're going to die now friend."

His arrow flew and pinged harmlessly off my invulnerable skin. As it bounced off, I caught it as it bounced off and threw it back at Argis. It pierced his skin and he fell. He reached desperately for his quiver and pulled out another injector arrow, this one filled with red fluid. I remembered from the stories that Gorgon blood was a powerful healer as well as poison. If anything could help Clarisse and Chris, it was that.

I grabbed Argis by the wrist and wagged my finger as if scolding him.

"Ah, ah, ah." I warned. Then I punched him in the face.

I threw the antidote arrow he had at Clarisse, and then pulled another from his quiver to throw at Chris.

At first, nothing happened. But then, Chris gasped and Clarisse started coughing. I helped them up and we kept moving. Using the map, we successfully avoided several Greek fire land mines, multiple automated arrow launchers, and a baby dragon that would've caused us some trouble.

As we made our way toward Iris, we passed a lot of tortures. One spirit was going through open heart surgery…while he was awake. There were all kinds of other stuff, but I'd rather not describe it. Let's just say I'm permanently traumatized now.

"Ready to submit Iris?" we heard from up ahead. I held up my hand for the others to stop.

"Never…" Iris barely managed. We winced when she cried out in pain.

With a series of elaborate hand motions, I silently told Clarisse to go around while I distracted whoever was torturing Iris. Chris drew both revolvers and readied them. I moved in, not sure what to expect. I suppose I should've expected Hyperion.

I looked away as he turned up his light to maximum intensity. I was looking away until he wasn't even in my peripheral vision, and I was still blinded.

What happened next was the scariest thing an ADHD child had ever done. Chris fired off all twelve of his bullets, reloaded, and fired off another twelve. At least three of them hit me. I was really grateful for my invulnerability right then. Hyperion screamed out, and the light died. I drew my knife and rolled in close.

Before he was aware I was in striking distance, my knife was embedded in his leg. He readied his spear, but Clarisse yanked it out of his hand and stabbed him in the back with it. He back handed me and sent me across the room, but I managed to keep my knife. Using his sword, he began a duel with Clarisse, sword against spear. Chris fired off all six bullets in one of his guns while he reloaded the other.

Hyperion blasted Chris with a beam of light. The beam also blinded me and Clarisse. Before my vision returned, I heard Clarisse scream.

"Clarisse!" I screamed. My vision returned just in time for me to block his sword with my own.

The duel continued, taking us through the Fields of Punishment all over again. I accidentally tripped a landmine and got blown back toward Iris and my friends. I tried to stand, but I didn't get anywhere. My clothes were still burning, so I had to slap the fire until it finally went out.

Hyperion strode in calmly, deciding how to finish us off. I crawled desperately toward one of Chris's fallen revolvers. Hyperion laughed and blasted me with a beam. If I wasn't invulnerable, I would've been fried to a crisp. That being said, I still felt like crud. I was desperate, so I reactivated the god powers. Strength flowed through my veins again. I fired a volley of arrows, forcing Hyperion back. I followed up by commanding several dead spirits to attack him while I checked on my friends. I healed both Chris and Clarisse, and then slashed through Iris's chains. Hyperion sent a wave of force out, getting rid of the dead.

We clashed again, but this time, a rapid succession of super-strong punches put him down. Combining Hermes's speed with Ares' strength was pretty effective. I'll remember that.

I put Iris's arm around my shoulder to help her walk. We started walking away, hoping to get out alive. I shut down the god powers to prevent my untimely death. Big mistake. I felt a blast of energy hit my leg, and I went down. Chris rolled away before returning fire.

"Going somewhere Jackson?" Hyperion yelled.

I reluctantly turned my god powers back on and returned fire alongside Chris while Clarisse got Iris out of the Underworld. Hyperion hurled a javelin that stuck itself in Chris's leg.

"Chris!" I shouted.

Hyperion turned his light up to full again. I wrapped him in vines to snuff him out. He of course got out, but I hit him in the face with a moon arrow when he did. I knew he was doomed. I had the power of eleven gods, he was one titan.

"DIE!" I ordered, and blasted him with a storm of godly energy.

I don't know what made me act that way. But whatever did, it was going to kill me in about two seconds.

Annabeth's POV

"Ready?" Athena asked.

"Fire it up," I responded.

Athena teleported me back into New York. I quickly ran behind cover before anyone could spot me. I checked my watch, a special addition from the rebellion armory. It could turn into a shield if I needed it too. I had a feeling I would need it where I was going.

_**Yup, I'm leaving it there. Mostly because the world's largest mustard bottle is REALLY uncomfortable. But also because I've decided to pull a double cliffhanger. Where is Annabeth going? Can Clarisse get Iris out without getting killed? And how is Percy's body going to react to the single largest burst of godly energy ever? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	17. Mission Accomplished

_**Well, with the authorities off of my back, I'm good to go come out of hiding! How's about we forget about Percy for a sec and get back to Wise Girl? What's that? You guys want to know if Percy's okay? TOO FREAKIN BAD! Here's the chapter.**_

__Camp Half-Blood. I never thought I'd see the place again. But here I was, looking for what Athena had sent me to find. But it didn't seem possible that she knew about a secret entrance even I didn't know about. But then again, there was a lot more to the rebellion than meets the eye.

Sure enough, under the ashes that had once been the Hermes cabin, I found an old trapdoor. I tried the handle, but it was of course locked. A few quick slices of my universal lock pick Riptide opened it. Checking over my shoulder to make sure no one saw me, I jumped down.

The tunnel was pitch black. Even the usual faint glow from Riptide was gone. I decided that feeling my way through was a little risky–especially if there were s-sp-arachnids–so I used Riptide as something of a blind man's cane.

I must've been down there for hours. I'm not usually afraid of the dark, but I'd like to see you spend a few hours in a black tunnel and not get a little creeped out. When I finally saw a tiny dot of light coming from the exit trap door, I was elated.

After listening to make sure there was no one outside, I sliced open the door. When I stepped out, I was a little surprised that the tunnel had taken me where Athena said it would. I was inside the armory of the Titans. Not the actual part where they stored the various weapons, including the master bolt, but I was still in the complex.

I heard someone coming and reached for where I kept my Yankees cap. I was shocked when I realized it was gone. I was about to hide, but twelve demigods, clad in the gray armor of the Titan forces, walked in. I gasped involuntarily. They all drew their weapons. I really hate the armory guards.

One of them had a trident with a net attached to the other end of it. Another had a double bladed sword the crackled with electricity. A third one had a quiver filled with arrows of pure Stygian iron. A different one had gauntlets with enough knives sticking out of them to give Wolverine an inferiority complex. And let's not forget the one with the automatic javelin rifle. Basically, they all had crazy powerful and exotic weapons. I just had a sword I'd stolen from my ex-best friend.

_Oh gods, help? _I prayed. But the thing was; only three gods were still powerful enough t hear my prayer, and two of them were a little busy. My mom had helped plenty, but was she going to help this time. I looked at my sword, and thought of its now godly former owner. _Percy help me. _I prayed.

A pipe in the wall burst, spraying all twelve of my opponents and giving me the time I needed to strike. I swung the blade while simultaneously drawing my shield. The blade tripped the one with the double bladed sword, and my shield deflected a Stygian arrow. I spun and shield bashed one while kicking out at the one with the trident net behind me.

The demigod I shield bashed flew backward, but I felt a net wrap around my leg just before I was yanked off my feet. I spun and batted away the incoming trident stab before jumping back up and slicing the net off the trident. I shield bashed whoever was coming up behind me while stabbing my sword through an opponent and kicking another.

I ran at a guard wielding the knife gauntlets. He raised his hands to block a sword strike, but instead I jumped up and kicked off of him to get momentum. Pulling off a perfect back flip over the rest of the guards, I landed solidly behind the Stygian archer, who lost his hands two second later. I kicked his screaming form out of the way and dueled with a guard that used what looked like a combination of knives and nun-chuks. He disarmed me, but a second later the sword reappeared in my hand and I sliced his stupid knife-chuks in half.

I used my shield to block his next strike while I sliced another guards spear in half. Spinning a hundred and eighty degrees, I shield bashed the one with the broken spear and used my sword to finish off the one with the busted knife-chuks. Knife Gauntlet came after me, but a knocked him out with a simple roundhouse kick.

All around me, bodies lay bleeding, unconscious, or dead. The one with the double bladed sword looked at me and gulped.

His sword fired a single lightning bolt, which I dodged. He fired again, this time hitting my shield and numbing my arm. I dropped my sword and used my now free hand to throw my shield.

The shield hit him in the temple and he went down. I just stood there, panting and sweating. I could barely believe it. I'd just beat twelve armory guards, and it only took about forty-five seconds. I turned my shield back into a watch, and Riptide back into a pen.

I went through the armory, placing the charges right where they needed to be. Near coordination consoles for the automated arrow launchers, by security checkpoint terminals, on armored doors, support beams, and all kinds of other strategic targets. I made it back to the trapdoor without getting spotted, but as I was climbing down I heard someone clapping.

In a flash, Riptide and my shield sprung to life. I spun around to see…Luke?

"Not bad Annabeth," Luke congratulated. "Not bad at all."

I held my sword steady. "Luke. I'm assuming you know why I'm here?"

"Yep," he stated. "What I don't know is why you–"

"Joined the right side?" I interrupted.

"And whose side is that Annabeth?" Luke asked.

I could've said the side of the gods. I could've said the side of Olympus. I even could've said the side of my friends or the side of my mother. But instead, I said:

"Percy's."

Luke's face showed the tiniest hints of a smile for half a second. He drew his own sword.

"I would join you Annabeth, but we still need someone on the inside," he said, not lowering his sword.

"We're going to have to pretend we're on different sides again, aren't we?" I asked, already knowing where this was going.

"Afraid so," Luke said. "On the bright side, we've got plenty of practice. Oh and Annabeth, I'm breaking up with you."

"Why exactly?" I asked. I wasn't sad though, considering I was going to break up with him soon enough, but I still wanted to know his reason.

"I hate visions, but you and me don't belong together. You, of course know this as much as I do," he said plainly.

"Yeah, I do," I said. And I meant it. I didn't really like Luke like that anymore. To boot, I knew who I did like like that.

"Good talk," Luke said, then swung his sword in a move that would've taken my head off if I'd been a quarter of a second slower. Our blades clashes about six times before I jumped backward an into the trap door and hit the detonator on the charges. Explosions shook the foundations and sent wood, metal and plaster flying everywhere. I ran through the tunnel, hoping I wouldn't crash into a wall.

Funny, the walk to the armory felt like hours, but the run back was three minutes tops. I reached into my bag for a drachma and squirt bottle. As soon as I hit the exit and sunlight, I tried what Athena had suggested.

Once I got the rainbow going, I panted the prayer and tossed my drachma into the rainbow. Sadly nothing happened. Shoot, that meant Iris messaging was still down. I was about to turn away when suddenly the mist shifted into an image of Athena back at Typhon's Prison. In the background, I saw Clarisse tending to Iris.

"Annabeth, I take it things went according to plan," Athena greeted.

"More or less," I admitted. "So, are you just gonna teleport me back or–"

"Sorry Annabeth, but you're going to have to one of our coral tunnels to get back," Athena explained.

"Oh," I said. "And the nearest one is where?"

Athena thought for a moment, and then responded. "Manhole just outside Times Square. You can't miss it."

"And why is that?" I asked, but the connection broke.

I sighed.

"Looks like I'm headed to Times Square," I muttered to myself.

_**Now that was a nice, Annabeth centered chapter that in no way explained if Percy was alright, wasn't it? *dodges bullet* Yikes! You guys are worse than the military, you know that? Is Percy okay? Did he really hear and answer Annabeth's prayer? And with IM-ing restored, what will be Percy's next mission?**_


	18. Rescue

_**Ugh, why can't the feds get someone else to do their time travel black ops? Yeah that's why they were after me, I went AWOL. But my first assignment isn't for two days, so I'm writing right now. Well, we know what Annabeth was up to, but what happened after Percy unleashed his godly fury? It would seem it's time to find out. Read and Review.**_

__Hyperion fell down, burned to a crisp, and weakened beyond all reason, but not dead. I on the other hand…

My entire body went to a series of uncontrollable spasms, and my brains felt like they were bashing their way out of my head. The terrible burning sensation returned to wreak havoc on my body. My body started to glow. A slit of light appeared on my arm like a cut. Another tore open on my cheek. The godly energy was tearing me apart. And in the middle of it all, something hit me.

It was a _feeling _that somewhere out in the world, someone needed me. Someone in greater despair than me. Then the words came. _Percy help me. _It was the voice of a girl, of a friend. I focused on the voice, because for some reason it gave me hope. Someone desperately needed me to be strong. So I stood up and silently thought a response to whoever had just called out to me. _I'm with you. _

The pain continued, but the cuts of light slowly started to seal themselves. The voice needed me, so did Chris, the rebellion, and all of Olympus. The pain began to recede, but in a painful way. It wasn't wearing off; I was holding it back with sheer willpower. When the pain was almost gone, I turned off the god powers. Chris cursed and pulled the javelin out of his leg. There was a lot of blood.

I wondered how much distance Clarisse and Iris had covered while Chris and I had held off Hyperion. I decided to test a theory. Once Chris and I were out of the Underworld, we went to the East River and I used my powers to make part of the water turn to mist and create a rainbow.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Clarisse, New York City," I said and tossed in one of my emergency drachmas.

Sure enough, the mist morphed into a perfect image of Clarisse and Iris outside of the coral tunnel entrance in Times Square.

"Huh, he's alive," Clarisse muttered.

"Nice to see you too," I retorted. "You go on to Typhon's Prison, and we'll catch up."

"Actually Percy, Chris will catch up. You've got another mission," Clarisse informed me.

"Says who?" I asked.

"Athena," Clarisse told me. "A different rebellion member caused a nice little distraction, so now is the perfect opportunity to free your dad."

My heart got a little excited. I was finally going to go rescue my dad. And I was going to shove Atlas back under the sky where his ass belonged. _Hang on dad, I'm coming. _A thought hit me.

"I'm going alone?" I asked.

I should've expected a _pft _response from Clarisse. "Don't be ridiculous Jackson. Tyson and Travis are en route to meet you there."

"Just Travis?" I asked. "What about Connor?"

Clarisse stiffened. "It's been a hard war Jackson. Just don't bring it up around Travis okay?"

I was shocked. Connor was dead. I mean, I knew there had been casualties; I'd even lost my mom and stepdad, not to mention some close friends. But I never thought the war would separate the Stolls.

I pushed out the depressing thoughts in favor of more practical ones. How was I going to get all the way to California? Then I remembered my useful but poisoning god powers. I could be at California in seconds if I shadow traveled. I found a nearby dark corner and jumped into it. The next instant, I was standing outside the entrance of the Garden of the Hesperides. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to wait until sunset, because the gates were open due to the chaos of the Titans.

I did, however, have to wait for Travis and Tyson. They rode out of the bay on two Hippocampi. Tyson gave me another hug, although slightly less painful, and Travis nodded at me. Together, we went in to save my dad.

Athena is pretty smart. I know it should be obvious but still it surprises me on occasion. The place was in chaos. There were a lot of monsters, but they were all leaving. In the middle of it all, Atlas was screaming orders, telling them to move faster, or to get back to their positions. At some point he shouted for someone to get his latte. A quick headcount left us with about twenty enemies, twenty-one counting Atlas.

"Can you guys take the monsters?" I asked.

Travis studied the enemy for a minute. "Maybe, but what about Atlas?"

"And daddy Poseidon?" Tyson put in.

"I'll handle Atlas, and we'll get Poseidon once we're done kicking ass," I told them.

"So that's the plan?" Travis asked.

"Yup."

"Just checking," Travis said sarcastically.

We drew our weapons. Travis drew his twin swords, Tyson drew his solid Celestial bronze club, and I drew my knife/sword. I jumped out first and extended my knife into sword form. Atlas leveled his spear at me. Two hellhounds leaped at me, but I batted them away and kept charging. A manticore lunged at me, but soon realized there were over seventy moon arrow protruding from his chest. He keeled over dead. Finally, my sword clashed against Atlas's spear.

I was vaguely aware of Tyson and Travis engaging the rest of the enemy. I soon realized that there were too many for them to handle, so I multitasked and fought both Atlas and the rest of the monster guards. I jumped away from Atlas and cut through three Telkhines before leaping backward and taking a swing at Atlas's head.

He retaliated by stabbing at my leg, which I blocked. He raised his spear again, but I tossed a flash bang at his face and followed up with a blast of fire. He stumbled backward, leaving him wide open for my vine whip. He recoiled further backward. Before I could continue my assault, he threw a javelin at my chest, and I went flying backward.

He sliced, the spear point glancing off my throat. I fired a few sun arrows, forcing him back. I jumped up and grabbed him by the throat. He clawed at my wrists, and I flung him across the battlefield. He skidded to a halt, and found me on top of him punching him repeatedly in the face. When his head went slack, I grabbed him by the ankles and slammed him into the ground behind me. I drew my sword again and started slashing and hacking. At first Atlas struggled, but after a few hacks he stopped. Ichor covered the ground. When I was sure he'd had enough, I turned my attention to what was left of the other guards.

Ten monsters had Tyson and Travis cornered. Tyson swung his club and sent a monster flying. Travis stabbed and another turned to dust. I notched eight arrows at once and fired. The other monsters died.

I grabbed Atlas by the back of his neck and dragged him behind me as I walked over to Poseidon. When my dad saw me, his eyes widened.

"Percy!" he cried. "You've made it!"

"Hey Dad," I greeted. I pulled my dad out from under the sky and shoved Atlas back under where he belonged.

"Hold this for me," I told Atlas.

Poseidon smiled at me. "Good to have you back son."

I hugged him. To my surprise, he hugged me back. "Good to have you back too Dad."

Tyson ran up and hugged us both in massive group hug. Travis cleared his throat.

"Um, guys?" he tried. "I hate to cut this short and all, but we've got company."

I looked to where he was pointing and saw Kronos himself riding in. I looked at Poseidon. He was in no shape to help me in a fight, and Tyson and Travis were just too weak in the power department. We had one option left. We ran like frightened little girls.

_**Yes this could be bad. Kronos is back, Percy is doomed, Connor is dead. I wrote this chapter while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Can Percy and his allies escape alive? Is Luke going to be of any real help? And has Annabeth earned her right to call herself a member of the rebellion, even in the eyes of Percy? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	19. This Could Be Bad

_**Let me make this clear: Connor is DEAD. He will not be back, unless I decide to bring him back in the third installment of this series (yes there will be a sequel to the sequel). Anyway, since many of the Stoll fans are going to kill me for that, I'm going to post this chapter before I die. Read and Review!**_

We ran faster than any of us had run before, and Kronos blasted at us with the accuracy of a cross-eyed horsefly. Some of his blasts looked a mile off. Others were so close we'd be thrown to the ground.

One time, Travis dropped one of his two swords when he fell. Instead of getting up and running, he went _back _for the sword.

"Travis what the Hades do you think you're doing?" I screamed while I ran.

Travis ignored me and dove for his sword. Another blast of energy hit, and I lost sight of Travis. For a scary second, I thought he was dead. But then he leaped out of the smoke and caught up with us. We were getting close to the bay again. If we could just make it, I could form an air bubble and we could head safely back to Typhon's Prison.

Unfortunately, Kronos caught up with us and with one sweep of the scythe tripped us all. We were mere feet from the bay.

"Dad, can you form an air bubble?" I asked.

"I think so," he replied unsure.

I waved my hand, and a wave swept up Tyson, Travis, and Poseidon into the bay. I really hope my dad could pull off the air bubble thing.

I turned back and kicked Kronos in the face. He stumbled back in surprise, giving me time to roll away and draw my sword. He studied me carefully, as if waiting for something else. I don't give it to him…yet.

I grip my sword with both hands, reading for round two. Finally, he buys my ruse and our weapons clash together. Our movements accelerated to a blinding speed, sparks flying as our weapons clashed again and again.

I was the first to get fancy. A quick fire blast forced him back and gave me more room. I followed up with two flash bangs to the face. While his vision and hearing returned, I slashed a cut on his arm. He retaliated by slamming my jaw with the butt end of his scythe and then cutting a gash in my leg.

I jumped back and healed it as best as I could before blocking his next strike. On my command, vines wrapped around Kronos's ankles and yanked him off his feet. I tried to drive him insane with Dionysus's powers, but all I really did was give him a headache and make him madder than ever. He kicked me in the stomach and then slashed at my neck. I managed to dodge and took the blow at my ribs instead.

I yanked the scythe from his hands and stabbed my sword clean through his body. When his body went slack, I ripped my sword out and kicked him away. He grabbed his scythe as he rolled.

I summoned five dead spirits to cover my retreat. Kronos cut them all down in one swipe. He slammed hi own weapon to the ground, forming a crack in the Earth and from it came ten monsters. I hacked my way through them, and I actually laughed when I was done.

Our blades met again, and he slowly drove me away from the bay. His back was to the water. I stabbed, cutting a nice gash in his throat. Ichor gushed out from the wound, and some of it got in my eyes and blinded me. I wiped it away and waved my hand. A wave shot out, knocking Kronos forward into my waiting sword.

Sadly, he had his own weapon raised, and I felt something stab through my torso. We pulled apart, silver blood pouring from my wounds and gold blood pouring from his. My own wounds sealed themselves rapidly, while his continued to leak, although more slowly now.

We circled each other, willing the other to attack. Neither one of us moved. I leapt back and fired a volley of fiery arrows. Kronos blocked them with the flat of his scythe and advanced. I blocked and parried his every strike, but he did the same to me. Finally, he slow time around me and took a swing at my unguarded self.

I commanded a huge tree to grow up underneath him, and he went flying into the air. While he was up there, I shot at him like a skeet target with my arrows. He landed on the ground with a huge _crash._

I strode up to his motionless form and laughed. It was a crazed, cynical laugh that scared me half to death.

"Lord of Time? King of the Titans? _Pft. _Not on your very best day," I told him.

I really should learn to keep my mouth shut. Kronos exploded in a huge burst of energy. I suddenly felt like I'd been shoved into a meat grinder. When that feeling stopped, I was kicked backward several feet. I was covered in cuts, and my shirt was in tatters. I healed my wounds and tore off what was left of my shirt.

Kronos snapped his fingers, and the halfway destroy skyscraper began to crumble. He'd just aged the supports until they gave out. I looked up to see twenty tons of concrete tumbling toward me. Quicker than lightning, I shadow traveled behind Kronos, grabbed him by the neck, and shadow traveled us back to where I'd been standing. Just before the impact, I shadow traveled away, leaving Kronos to get to know the rubble.

For a reassuring second, nothing happened. But then, a scythe popped out of the debris, and Kronos soon followed. I decided to use my plan now. I jumped onto his back and shadow traveled us to China. After dropping him off, I shadow traveled back to San Francisco and jumped into the bay. I swam as fast as possible until I caught up with a massive bubble holding my friends and father.

On the ride down, I decided to talk to Travis.

"What were you thinking?" I asked. "Kronos is blasting half of California into orbit, and you go _back _for a _sword_?"

"Percy, do you remember me carrying two swords before Olympus fell?" heasked me.

"Uh, no not really," I admitted.

Travis looked at me like I'd just stabbed him in the chest. And believe me, I know that look. He raised the sword, the one he'd risked his life to retrieve. My head did a back flip. It was Connor's sword.

"Oh gods, Travis. I'm so sorry I didn't know," I tried to apologize.

"Save it," he spat.

I was a little shocked. This wasn't the Travis I knew. This Travis was silent, dark, and brooding. Like Batman if he were a child of Hermes (he was really a son of Hades). I guess if I lost a brother I did everything with, I'd go all emo too but still. In just one year, this war had done so much damage to so many people. Even I'd changed a little. I didn't fear death anymore, because I'd felt it before. My only fear was that I'd die before I could defeat Kronos. My only fear… was failure.

When we reached Typhon's Prison, a small welcoming party was waiting for us. Nico, Thalia, Chiron, Athena, Argus, and some other girl I'd never seen before were standing there waiting for us. I suddenly picked up something on my someone's-in-love senses, which I ignored. Athena smirked when she saw Poseidon.

"Well Kelp Head, you've been here forty-five seconds and you haven't destroyed the place. I'm impressed," she joked.

"I aim to please," my dad retorted sarcastically.

"I'm sure you do," Athena said, rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Poseidon questioned.

"What's what supposed to mean?" Athena asked mockingly in an innocent voice.

"Oh will you two just make out and get it over with?" Nico shouted.

Everyone stared open mouthed at Nico. Poseidon and Athena turned toward each other and Poseidon did his well-why-not shrug. Athena gasped in disgust and slapped Poseidon across the face. The look on my dad's face said _oh, that's why not. _

"Okay if we're done here," I interrupted, "I'm kinda gonna die in a few days due to power overload, so if someone would be kind enough to tell me where Zeus is, I'll be on my way."

Athena looked at me, as if realizing for the first time I was standing there. She turned her attention to the girl I'd never seen before. She had raven hair and stormy gray eyes. That was all I could really see under the helmet and armor.

"Percy, this girl successfully sabotaged the Titan armory's defenses. I have a feeling that that's going to help you very soon," Athena told me.

"Thanks," I told her, "I owe you one. They were probably going to have me do that."

The girl laughed. That laugh sounded so familiar, so warm and friendly, it was hard to imagine that this girl had fought in a war. _And she's in love with you. _My senses suddenly told me. _What the? _Was my only thought.

"Now, on to other matters, if you're ready, Nico and Thalia are all set for your rescue of Zeus," Athena told me.

I nodded. "Let's go guys."

After my dad gave me his powers and his blessing, we were off.

Annabeth's POV

The helmet of disguise my mom had given me was working almost perfectly. Aside from my eye color, I could alter any part of my appearance. I was finally able to walk around the entire complex without being attacked by angry former friends. Not to mention the sabotage job had earned me some major respect.

And so I was free to join my mother, Nico, Thalia, Chiron, and Argus in greeting Percy. I was not, however permitted to go with Percy on his next quest. Can't win 'em all.

When I saw Percy, shirtless and battle hardened, I think my heart did a little somersault. Did I just think that? I've got to stop hanging out with the surviving Aphrodite girls.

My mom told Percy how I'd sabotaged the armory's defenses and how that was going to be useful to him in the future.

He smiled at me and said, "Thanks, I owe you one. They were probably going to have me do that."

I laughed. Yeah, they probably would have.

Not long after Percy left to go save Zeus and I went back to my own tent, I got and IM from Luke.

"Annabeth, how's Percy doing?" he asked.

"Percy? Okay, I guess. The pains are getting worse though, and they're developing a tendency to show up at the most awkward of times. Like in the middle of a fight," I told him. Luke looked nervous.

"Kronos has pulled almost all the guard out of Zeus's prison," he stated, looking over his shoulder. "He wants Percy to have the power of all twelve Olympians."

"He wants to fight Percy again," I realized

Luke nodded. "One on one, well mostly. But that's not it Annabeth. You know your invisibility cap? They found it. Your mom made it right?"

I was getting worried. "Yeah, why?"

"Kronos is trying to use magic to trace your hat back to its creator," Luke told me, again looking over his shoulder.

"Oh no. How long until they find us?" I asked.

"Not long. A day, two days tops. He's got Circe working on it," he told me.

"This could be bad."

_**Uh-oh. Kronos is going to find Typhon's Prison and take the fight to the rebellion. Once he's done with Percy anyway. And what happens if the base is destroyed? Aside from everyone dying, who would escape? Yup, we're getting very close to this story's finale. Is it going to be easy getting Zeus out? Is Annabeth going to try and befriend Percy in her new disguise? Can Athena and Poseidon not kill each other while Percy's gone? And could these questions possibly get any more annoying? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	20. The Challenge

_**This chapter turned out better than I thought. Beware the cliffhangers. Sorry I didn't post this morning. Wednesday is my "off" day. Don't ask. Bottom line is the chapter is here now. This chapter is mostly humor with some action and a cliffhanger at the end. **_

Zeus was imprisoned on top of Mt. Whitney, being tortured by two eagles whose favorite pass time was clawing at his innards. Sounds like a great way to spend the year. I was expecting to come across hundreds of guards and traps, but instead there were about twelve traps that whacked me in the invulnerable face with spikes. There were a few catapult traps that sent me flying into bushes with Celestial bronze thorns.

Nico and Thalia however, didn't get hit by a single trap. Mostly because I was on point and took all the hits for them. But, Nemesis must've decided to fix the balance, because Nico got pretty busted up in his own way. Thalia kept catching Nico staring at her, and she kept slapping him upside the head.

"Eyes on the trail Ghost Boy," Thalia warned.

I laughed. Maybe it was my Aphrodite love senses acting up again, but if Nico were a few years older and Thalia wasn't a Hunter, they could have something there. That aside, however, their yammering was driving me insane. I was almost relieved when Zeus's howling screams of eternal agony pierced our ears with the force of jack hammers.

There still weren't any guards or defenses. I made the _pft _sound.

"Thalia, take the one on the left, I got the one on the right," I said.

We notched our arrows and took aim.

"Hey what am I supposed to do?" Nico asked.

"Just sit back and watch Ghost Boy," Thalia joked.

We fired, and both eagles turned toward us with fire in their eyes. We gulped. They soared toward us, claws ready. Nico stepped in front of us and slashed out with his sword. Both eagles turned to dust.

"Sit back and watch huh?" Nico asked. "Yeah right."

Zeus's wounds slowly started to heal. I walked up to him and held out my hand.

"Let me help you with that," I said, and healed his wounds until he was fine.

He looked up at me incredulously, as if he'd never seen a hero he'd thought was dead show up not only alive but with the power of most of the Olympian gods. Then again, he probably hadn't.

"Percy Jackson, you're alive," Zeus said.

"Long story, look I'm–"

"Why do _you _have the powers of the gods?" he interrupted.

"Yeah, about that, I kinda need your powers to complete the set, so if you could just–"

"Absolutely not!" Zeus roared.

That caught me off guard. All the other gods had given up their powers easily enough; I'd thought Zeus would too.

"If you want _my _powers, you're going to have to prove yourself," Zeus told me.

"How am I going to–"

"Retrieve my master bolt and return it to me, so…so I can say goodbye to it. Do this and I will give you my powers," Zeus told me.

"Gee Uncle, didn't know you had a soft spot underneath all that I'm-going-to-blast-you-to-bits talk," I joked.

"And don't worry," I reassured Zeus. "I'll give your powers and the bolt back when I'm done with them."

I turned to go, motioning Nico to follow me. Thalia raised an eyebrow, and Zeus looked at me in shock.

"Thalia, stay here and keep an eye out and IM us if anything dangerous shows up. Nico's with me," I said.

"You're leaving me here?" Zeus asked.

"Yup," I said, and snapped my fingers.

The dust that had been the eagles swirled, and reformed back into Zeus's torturers. Zeus started begging for me to call off the eagles. I laughed that crazed, proud laugh again. Nico looked at me like I was the scariest thing he'd ever seen. Considering he was a son of Hades, I must've looked pretty scary.

The Titan armory held the master bolt, along with Poseidon's trident and Hades helm of darkness. This was going to be a snap, considering the raven haired girl had sabotaged the place earlier. I turned to Nico.

"How accurate is your shadow traveling?" I asked.

"Haven't screwed up since that time I ended up in Thalia's tent," he told me.

"That was an accident?" I asked.

He laughed. "Well, the first time was."

We both shadow traveled to the armory. I ended up on a broken rafter, while Nico landed smack dab in front of a monster guard. Before Nico or his new Telkhine buddy could draw their weapon, I fired an arrow and the Telkhine turned to dust. I dropped down and together Nico and I continued through the wreckage of the armory. There was a lot of reconstruction, so we had to kill or disable a lot of workers. Finally, we reached the main vault. The problem?

The entire place was surrounded by monster and demigod workers. Directing it all was my old buddy Luke. He was yelling things like "Get those turrets reconnected" or "Somebody get that crap out of the way".

I looked at Nico. "You get the weapons, I'll take the crew," I told him.

Nico made the _pft _noise that I'd been hearing a lot lately. "You get to have all the fun."

He went his own separate way while I snuck up behind Luke. I just stood behind him for a while, wondering if he'd notice me. He didn't, so I cleared my throat.

"What is it?" Luke groaned.

He turned and his eyes widened when he saw me.

"Hey cuz," I greeted, and then punched him in the face. I heard a _crack _and he crumpled to the floor.

I must've made more noise than I thought, because suddenly I saw Nico fighting off three armory guards. One of them looked pretty beat up and he was missing a hand. The other two were still fit and ready for battle. One engineer desperately worked on the automatic arrow launcher coordination grid. He connected one final cord, and the turrets sprang to life, pouring their magazines out at me.

I just stood there casually as the arrows bounced harmlessly off my chest. When the turrets ran out of ammo, the remaining crew looked at me in awe.

I cracked my neck and knuckles. "Now that was rude," I told them flatly, and then I unleashed Hades on them (Again, not the god.).

I was down to one last monster, a mammoth sized hellhound when suddenly I collapsed to the ground. My vision went blurry and red. My heart beat started racing I heard it in my ears. My vision started to go darker red as the burning sensation in my chest took over. The cuts of golden light opened back up, and I felt like I was about to explode. Another cut opened up parallel with my ribcage. I coughed, and tainted ichor came out. My lungs collapsed, and tendrils of black started to enter my vision. The cuts of light opened up more.

Suddenly, it stopped. My vision cleared and I saw Nico's sword shoved into one of my open light cuts. The pain disappeared, and Nico' sword started to vibrate. He pulled it out just in time, and it exploded. Nico fell to the floor with a bleeding chest wound. He had Stygian iron shrapnel in his chest, and it was slowly absorbing his life force.

I shoved him to the ground and turned my sword back into the knife. I really hoped the powers of Apollo extended to things like being a skilled surgeon.

_**NICO! You guys all know I'm vicious. I might just kill Nico, I might not. This may just be my greatest cliffhanger yet. Nah the one before the finale will be. Anyway. Will Nico live? Will Percy and Annabeth ever talk? What do Percy's various companions think about Percy's upcoming battle against Kronos? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	21. Collision

_**Due to the various death threats, I've decided to leave Nico's fate up to Percy's skills as a surgeon. Okay let's get on with this story, it's taking longer than my wife in the bathroom (Oh, wait. I'm not married. Hmm. Then who keeps using my shampoo? Was it you Scruffy7627? Huh?).**_

__I slid my knife into Nico's open wound. He let out a muffled scream, but otherwise took it fine. I took tiny, precise slices, opening up the wound as I searched for the shrapnel. With each cut, Nico screamed in agony.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I don't have much to work with."

"Aw f***!" he screamed.

When I finally found the shrapnel, I caught my breath. Nico managed to look up at me.

"There a problem?" he asked.

"The shrapnel's lodged in your aorta. I could pull it out now, but it looks barbed. Might end up just sending Stygian iron into your bloodstream. I could cut it out, but then we risk massive bleed out," I told him.

"Make the cut," he ordered.

I wasn't about to argue with a dying son of Hades with an attitude, so I made the cut.

"Shit! Damn Percy that hurts!" he yelled.

"You asked for it," I told him. And he had.

I slowly pulled the shard out. It was about two inches long and covered in blood. Nico grunted, reminding me he was there. I sealed his wound, and it closed quickly enough. Nico was still unconscious. I felt his pulse. It was weak, barely there even. An idea hit me, and I scrambled for the weapon locker. I shoved a few swords and spears aside and came out holding Zeus's master bolt. I turned back to Nico and fired the smallest lightning bolt I could manage. I must've not had very good control, because a good sized bolt struck Nico in the chest.

Electricity coursed through him and his body went into a spasm. He suddenly gasped and sat back up. His hair was smoking, but other than that he was fine. He cracked his neck and stood back up.

"Ow," he groaned.

He felt his chest, as if to reassure himself it was still there. He sighed contently once he was done making sure all of his body parts were in order.

"Not bad Percy," he told me.

"Well," I said, "I doubt Thalia would appreciate my getting you killed."

Nico laughed. "Oh really, you're bringing her into this?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact I am," I told him. "I saw the way you were looking at her. You didn't take your eyes off her once during the whole freaking hike."

"I was watching her to make sure she didn't fall," he lied.

"I'm sure that's why," I scoffed.

"Yeah well I'm gonna need a new sword now thanks to you," Nico returned.

"Because of me? You're the one who shoved a sword into me," I reminded him. "Why'd you do that anyway?"

"Well, I can see people dying, the energy just leaves them. With you it was the opposite. It looked like you had _too much _life force in you, and you were about o burst. So I figured I could use my sword to drain some of your excess energy," he explained.

"So, you purposely drained the life out of me?" I asked.

"I drained the life out of you to save your life," he said.

I huffed. Nico may be a lovesick son of Hades, but he does make a good point. Darn.

We picked up other weapons besides the bolt. My dad's trident, Hades' helm, a new sword for Nico, and a cool rapid fire crossbow to name a few.

"So, you and Thalia huh?" I asked.

"Whatever," he grunted. "Anyway, why are we always talking about my love life? What about that girl from the sabotage job?"

"What about her?" I asked.

"Oh come on, I'm not stupid," Nico told me.

"You sure?"

We talked like that pretty much the whole time until we shadow traveled back to Mt. Whitney. I reemerged from a shadow created by one of the eagles, while Nico somehow landed on top of Thalia. He smiled before promptly being shoved off.

I blasted the two eagles with a couple blasts from the trident. Zeus looked both relieved and angry. I cut his bonds with my knife and tossed him the master bolt.

"Make it quick I got a Titan to kill," I quipped.

I went off to go check on Nico and Thalia while Zeus said goodbye to his favorite weapon and powers. I found them staring at each other with their faces about six inches apart.

"Uh, Nico…?" Thalia started.

"Yeah?" Nico asked.

Instead of continuing, they very slowly started to lean in. I cleared my throat, and that saved me from having to deal with watching another make out session among my friends. For some reason it got on my nerves.

They both blushed and pulled away from each other before they even kissed. When we came back, Zeus was done with his goodbyes. Albeit a little reluctantly, he gave me his powers. And with that we all shadow traveled home.

It was business as usual in Typhon's Prison. Athena had come out to meet me, or more likely she'd come to make sure I hadn't screwed up again. She saw Zeus, looking like a tired eighteen year old demigod, and nodded at me.

"Well Percy, it seems the time has come," she said. She held out her hand, and her powers flowed into me. Which was weird because I'd thought she'd already given me her powers. Oh well, thoughts for another day.

"Alright, just point me in Kronos's direction and I'll be off," I said weakly.

Athena shook her head. "Percy have you seen yourself lately?" I looked at the reflective glass surface of the dome. I looked awful. My hair was beyond a mess, and I was covered in scars. My shirt, which I'd gotten before going off to rescue Zeus, had Nico's blood on it and was getting pretty tattered. I admitted I was pretty messed up. It'd be wise to take the night off.

I was sitting in my tent wondering what to do with my time off when Poseidon walked in.

"Hey Dad," I greeted.

"Percy, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I've been better," I admitted. "Dad, do you think I honestly have a chance at beating Kronos?"

Poseidon looked at me sadly. "Percy, no one being has ever defeated Kronos alone. For you to try this…"

"Do you think I can win?" I repeated.

He sighed. "No, Percy. I do not think you will win this fight. I am sorry," he told me sadly.

I merely shook my head. "Every kid dreams of proving their parent wrong. Looks like this is my chance."

"Percy, do you want to do this?" he suddenly asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to fight Kronos?" he asked.

"Of course not I admitted. "I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to keep the world safe, get a decent job, maybe meet a nice girl and raise a family, I don't know. I can't take all of this stress and danger and…and I'm scared. I really need something to support me right now."

Poseidon placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "You will fight well Percy. Of that I am certain."

I hugged him. It felt weird calling an eighteen year old demigod my dad. But he was my dad, and nothing was changing that. He patted me on the back and left. When he was gone, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. I needed some air, so I walked to the training dome to find something to hit. There was in fact plenty of stuff to destroy, and I let out a nice amount of steam. I returned to my tent, feeling better.

I was woken up from a dreamless sleep by a voice that whispered, "Percy!"

I rolled over groggily. "Five more minutes I begged.

"Percy it's me," the voice whispered.

I opened my eyes and saw…ANNABETH?

_**I'm truly evil. Well I'd write more, but my girlfriend is hauling me to jail. I'll bust out tonight and have a new chapter up tomorrow. So what will Percy's reaction be after everything that's happened? Can Percy defeat Kronos one on one? And will the rebellion be able to keep Typhon imprisoned during the invasion? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	22. The Talk

_**This has been a long time coming. Sadly, it's predictable all the same. Percy, who believes Annabeth is his newest greatest enemy, is a day away from the fight of his life. Annabeth, who has been working her butt off to prove her worth, is desperate to talk to Percy before he leaves again. This is gonna be good.**_

I back flipped out of bed, kicking Annabeth under the chin in the process. I drew my knife and readied myself for a fight. For some reason Annabeth didn't draw Riptide.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I snarled.

Annabeth looked terrified. "I just want to talk," she lied.

"Nothing to talk about," I spat.

I slashed with my knife. Now she drew her own weapon and blocked my strike. I backed up and tried to go on defense, but there was nothing to defend against.

"Percy, I just–" Annabeth began.

I interrupted her with a strike from with my knife, which she dodged matrix style. While she was still bent backward, I kicked her and sent her stumbling backward. While she went backward, I created a vine rope on level with her ankles that tripped her. She hit the ground hard, and I threw my knife at her head. She moved her head to the side and the knife embedded itself in the ground.

I dropped down on top of Annabeth and grabbed my knife. She head butted me off of her and swung her sword, which glanced harmlessly off my side.

"Will you just listen to me?" she begged. "I'm on your side!"

"You're lying!" I roared.

I changed my knife into the sword form and sliced. She blocked and returned the strike. I blocked her sword and went on the offensive. I moved fast enough to keep her fighting for her life, but not with my full might. I was toying with her. And by the look on her face, she knew it.

"Did you really think you could kill me Annabeth?" I said threateningly.

She got in a lucky shot, and her blade skidded across my face. She stabbed me in the eye, but nothing happened. Even my eyes were invincible.

"I'm not here to kill you!" she tried. "Just let me explain."

"Explain what? You're sorry you almost killed me a year ago?" I asked, angry now.

"Percy, please. There's no one else I can go to," she told me, crying now.

"I know," I told her, not backing down. "They're all dead because of you!"

That's when I lost it. I fired off a lightning bolt, and Annabeth crashed to the floor, smoking. She dropped Riptide, and it clattered to the floor. I grabbed Riptide and crossed it with my own weapon. Holding both blades up to her throat, I let the fear flow through her.

"Percy…please. Just let me explain," she begged.

I don't know why, but I caved a little.

"Five minutes," I told her flatly. I didn't lower my swords though.

"I never meant for any of this to happen Percy. You have to believe me. I'm your friend," Annabeth said.

"YOU WERE NEVER MY FRIEND!" I roared. "It was a lie. It was all a lie. You were planning my death from day one."

"No!" she insisted. "It started that way but–"

"But nothing! I thought I could trust you Annabeth! Look where that got me! I'm stuck with the power of thirteen gods, and if that doesn't kill me odds are Kronos will! I thought you were my friend. I thought it was real. I thought…maybe…" but the words failed me.

"It was real for me too. Please you've got to believe me. I've been helping you. I've given up everything. For you." she told me.

You know maybe if she didn't lie so much I'd believe her.

"Name one time you helped me and meant it Annabeth," I ordered coldly.

"Mount St. Helens," she said.

I tried to take off her head with the swords, but she dodged and tried to run. I fired off a sun arrow, which exploded and sent her to the ground again.

"I meant when you freed Hephaestus. I was there. I helped you guys free Hephaestus, I rescued you from that Telkhine, I sabotaged the armory's defenses, I told the rebellion where Iris was, and I freed Blackjack. That was all me," she told me.

I softened up for a second. But only for a second.

"And what about everything else you've done? Castor, Silena, Beckondorf, Juniper, Micheal, Malcolm, Connor, all their deaths are on you! Not to mention all the demigods, nature spirits, centaurs, and Hunters who were killed when the Titans took over?"

Annabeth looked like I'd ripped her heart out of her chest. Good, she knows how I felt.

"Was it worth it Annabeth?" I asked.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "No," she answered. "But this was."

She lifted up her shirt. I was about to tell her seduction wasn't going to get her anywhere, but I realized that wasn't what she was getting at. She was showing me the scar that ran across her stomach.

"Kronos gave me that when I told him I failed to stop you at Mount St. Helens. He also broke two of my ribs and dislocated my shoulder. I lost so much blood. For you," she said sadly.

I lowered my sword.

"Annabeth…" It broke me to see her like this. She'd given up everything to help me. She looked into my eyes, and I looked into hers. I lost track of what happened after that, but next thing I realized we were pulling our lips apart.

"Percy…I love you," Annabeth told me, and the powers of Aphrodite confirmed it. Annabeth Chase was in love with me. And that's when it hit me…

"I love you too," I told her.

After that, I punched her in the face. She fell to the ground, unconscious. I left her in my tent with Riptide in her pocket and a blanket keeping her warm.

"But I can't trust you," I whispered.

And with that I went back to the training dome and cried myself to sleep.

Luke's POV

Our ships slowly approached the center of the sea of monsters. All around me, people were busy prepping the ships for the dive. Torpedo launchers were loaded, boarding pods were refueled, and the hull was double sealed. I stared at Annabeth's hat, which had led us to Typhon's Prison. If only I'd gotten to it a second sooner, I wouldn't be in this situation

"How long until we reach the Prison?" I asked.

"T-minus seven minutes," Ethan informed me. He'd miraculously avoided death on that fateful day one year ago.

"You ready for this?" he asked.

"Nope," I told him, and stabbed him in the stomach.

He collapsed, bleeding out. He looked murderously at me.

"Traitor," he hissed.

I readied my sword and turned to the rest of the crew. They were pumped and ready for battle against my friends. I was one guy…and I was going to take on and army.

"Not a traitor…a hero," I said to myself.

_**Corny, yet impressive. So now we're very close to the end. Can Percy defeat Kronos? Can Annabeth, Luke, and the rebellion hold off the Titan army? Are my annoying cliffhangers going to get me killed? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	23. Total War Part 1

_**I never really knew how this fanfic would turn out. I mean yeah I had a general idea for it but, I mostly wrote this on the fly. This is where it picks up. Percy will fight Kronos. Luke will hold off an army. Annabeth and the rebellion will fight to the last man to keep Typhon secure. There will be loss. There will be pain. There…will…be…war.**_

__I woke up to the sound of sirens. Not _the _Sirens, but blaring warning sirens accompanied by flashing red lights. People were scrambling all around me, yelling all kinds of stuff I didn't have the attention span to listen to.

"What the Hades is going on?" I asked one mortal rebel.

"The Titan fleet was spotted in the sea of monsters. The _entire _fleet. They've found us," he said grimly.

"Oh," was my intelligent response.

I ran to the command dome where Athena and the other gods were. They were all working frantically to help the others. Athena was in the center of it all, shouting orders to everyone.

"Poseidon, see what you can do about those boarding pods!" she shouted.

My dad nodded and ran off the deployment/living area dome.

"Ares, you're with the vanguard, I want as many of the enemy destroyed as possible before they reach us!"

"On it!" he responded as he donned underwater equipment.

"Apollo! Artemis! Get outside and back up the defense turrets."

The twin archers nodded and donned their equipment.

"Athena, what's going on?" I yelled.

She turned toward me. "Percy? What are you still doing here? We're running out of time. You need to engage Kronos, now!"

"What about the army?" I asked. "I can help."

"Your fight isn't here Percy," she insisted. "Now go! We'll hold them off as long as we can!"

I realized she said hold off, not win. They couldn't win this fight. They needed me to help. But they also needed me to defeat Kronos, and if his army was here, then he was all alone.

I nodded and headed for the deployment dome. I exited Typhon's Prison and swam for the surface, blasting a few Titan ship/subs to bits on my way. When I emerged, a ship that hadn't dived yet aimed its cannons at me. The gunners were about to open fire when they were killed by…Luke?

"Get going Percy!" he shouted. "We'll take care of things here!"

So Luke was with me too. Ordinarily I'd be angry with Luke for daring to show his face, but at the moment I was just glad my friends had more help. And if Luke was willing to fight to the last breath like every other rebellion member, he'd make a good asset. Taking to the skies with the power of Zeus, I flew off for Mount Othrys.

Annabeth's POV

I heard Athena call my name. I ran over to her, wondering what she wanted.

"Annabeth, you're leading the vanguard," she told me.

My eyes widened. "What?"

"You're leading the vanguard, now move! The others are waiting," she told me.

I was confused, but I took off, donning a suit of underwater gear as I ran. I met up with the rest of the vanguard, which consisted of Clarisse, Chris, Thalia, Nico, Ares, Travis, and Tyson. When they saw me, their eyes widened.

"What are _you _doing here traitor?" Clarisse asked.

"Leading the vanguard," I said matter-of-factly. "Athena's orders. Got a problem with that Clarisse?"

She gritted her teeth. "Listen Wise Girl, if you think–"

"Look," Thalia hissed. "We need all the help we can get. If Athena has asked Annabeth to lead the vanguard, then she's leading the vanguard. If anyone's got a problem with that, they can take it up with _me._"

"And me," Nico said.

"And me," Tyson added, folding his arms.

I blushed a little. After everything I'd done, my friends were still, well, my friends.

"Let's move," I ordered.

While we were walking, I fell in line with Thalia and Nico. "Thanks," I told them.

"Just don't make me regret backing you up, Annabeth," she said.

"I won't," I told her and myself.

Grudgingly, my companions trudged along. Clarisse gave me her you-are-so-dead-punk look she got from her dad. I gave her the I'm-going-to-kill-you-slowly-and-painfully look I got from my mom. Clarisse backed down.

We swam out of the hatch exit and headed for the ships. Two ships tilted their noses at us and open fired torpedoes.

"Incoming!" Nico screamed over the communication band in our helmets.

__Tyson caught the torpedoes, which exploded in his hands.

"Tyson, you okay?" I asked.

"It tickles," he joked. Or maybe he wasn't joking.

I could make out dozens of Titan ship/subs already coming within firing range, and I knew hundreds, maybe thousands, more were still diving or on the surface. We were eight heroes. No way could we take on an army.

All the same, we were going to try.

"Fan out," I ordered. "We'll all have to take a ship. If we focus on one too many will get through."

We spread out, each going for a separate ship. Travis swam the length of one ship, cutting gashes along the hull with his two swords. The ship soon sank, crushing another ship on its way down. Ares hurled a javelin through the water, which penetrated the hull of a ship and came out the other side. He then pulled out a sword and hacked away until the ship sank. Tyson grabbed one ship by he nose and after spinning around a few times, he hurled it into another. Both ships went up in a massive fireball.

Some of the sinking ships opened their hatches, and out came a storm of Telkhines. The others turned to see what was happening.

"I'll take the Telkhines!" I shouted. "Stay focus on those ships!"

I swam away to meet the Telkhines, my sword ready. I slashed and hacked and spun and kicked until the water around me was thick with monster dust. And I still kept fighting. At some point, I heard a Telkhine bark in pain behind me. I turned to see an arrow sticking out of its neck. I turned to Thalia.

"I told you to focus on the ships!" I shouted.

"You're welcome…" Thalia muttered.

We hammered our way through the fleet, but several ships got through. We were too busy to go back, and I was sure those ships were going to tear the Prison apart. They fired off a salvo of torpedoes. For some reason, all the torpedoes veered off course. I saw two figures shooting arrows through the water at the torpedoes. The harpoon turrets pivoted and open fired, sinking two of the ten ships that got through.

The remaining ships launched boarding pods, pods that latched onto the side of ships–or in this case domes–so that the occupants of the pod could enter. I made out sixteen pods, all of them aimed at the deployment dome.

That's where Poseidon came in. He willed the currents to attack, and several pods crashed into each other. Others veered so far off course I think I might find them in China one day. But three lucky pods latched on, and the various monsters poured out.

I turned my attention back to my fight. We were doing our best, and I alone must've sank a dozen ships already, but it wasn't enough. They just kept coming.

"Downside of fighting an army of monsters…even if you cut they're numbers in half, sooner o later they all regenerate and you're right back where you started," Nico mumbled.

I swam to the nearest ship shoved my sword into its propeller. The propeller blades shattered, and the ship went dead in the water. I swam to a different ship/sub and hacked to seal off the exit hatch, letting water flow in and sink the ship. Travis swam by me at one point, followed by a ship that had its torpedoes trained on him. Another time, I saw Clarisse fighting of several Telkhines that had escaped a sinking ship.

I kept fight, each strike I made a little bit weaker than the last. We slowly pushed our way surface-ward, with Nico the farthest ahead. We made it to a ship that hadn't dived yet and climbed aboard. Onboard, two figures were struggling for control of the wheel. I recognized one of them as…Luke? What was he doing here?

Luke kicked his adversary overboard and spun the ship's wheel hard. We were all thrown to the ground as the ship veered to the left and crashed into another one. Ares got up first and manned the nearest cannon. He got to work blasting apart the ship that we'd crashed into. When Luke saw us, his eyes widened.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

Thalia pointed her spear which now crackled with lightning. She couldn't have done that underwater for obvious reasons. "A better question is what are you doing here."

"Helping you!" Luke quickly explained.

I told them Luke was with me and that we needed to get back to work. Thalia eyed me like I was insane, and Travis still seemed like he was thinking up the best way to kill me, but they all nodded, and some dived overboard to swim to other ships that hadn't dived yet. So did I.

While I was fighting the crew of one ship, I got a call over the communication unit.

"Annabeth, get your team back down here now!" Athena shouted. "We're being overrun!"

"On it!" I responded and relayed the new orders to my team.

We all dived in, leaving Luke alone to fend off the portion of the fleet that was on the surface. He didn't have the specially made diving suits we did.

Back at Typhon's Prison, things were ugly. Poseidon was single-handedly holding twelve ships at bay, but many more were already inbound, and he needed help. Artemis and Apollo were still adding to the fire of the harpoon turrets, but they were running low on arrows. We cam in and went to work, taking down several inbound ships and all of the ships Poseidon was fighting.

But before we could get to the Prison itself, a torpedo streaked by and exploded. I couldn't see Poseidon anymore. Another salvo flew in Apollo's direction just as he cried "I'm out!".

Artemis swam away, barely dodging the torpedoes aimed at her. We were out gunned, out numbered, out flanked, and all around out matched. We'd lost the exterior fight. Travis, Tyson, and Ares stayed back to keep fighting the enemy fleet while the rest of us, including Artemis, swam into the deployment dome to help our friends.

Inside was chaos. The Titan army held a tight formation as they battered our own defenses. People from both sides were dropping everywhere. The Titan army had their backs to us, so we charged.

_**Percy where are you? Mwah-ha-ha-ha! Well, what did you think? Epic? Awesome? Epicly Awesome? Awesomely Epic? What horrors await the rebellion defenses? How's the fight between Percy and Kronos going to turn out? Are Poseidon and Apollo okay? Tune in next time to find out! **_


	24. Total War Part 2

_**So, last chapter we saw how things were going for Annabeth and the others. Poorly. How's Percy doing? I'll get to that…eventually. Any day now the sequel is due to come out, so be sure to vote on my poll if you haven't already. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a six-hundred foot tall crazed baker with a zombie army to annihilate, so I'll just give you this chapter and be gone. **_

We had caught the Titan forces by surprise, but we were soon forced back along with the rest of the rebellion. Another pod slammed into the dome, and out of it slithered a fire breathing dragon. Instead of going for us, it slithered toward the greenhouse dome.

"Grover!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me.

"What?" he called without seeing me.

"Take care of the dragon, I'll cover you!" I shouted, even though I still couldn't see him in the chaos of the battle.

The dragon entered the greenhouse, with Grover hot on his trail. I followed, keeping enemy troops off of him. By the time I followed Grover into the greenhouse, several trees were already ablaze.

Grover held up his shield just in time to save him self from becoming barbecue. I jumped onto the dragon's back and stabbed Riptide into its hide. It reeled back and shook me off. Grover saw me clearly for the first time, and lowered his shield.

"Annabeth?" he asked.

"Long story. DUCK!" I yelled.

H reacted just in time, narrowly avoiding more dragon flames. Riptide reappeared in my hands, so I resumed my attack. Aiming for chinks in the dragon's armor. While I went on offensive, Grover helped by keeping the dragon focused on him. Soon the dragon keeled over dead, and Grover lowered his smoking shield. Around us, trees were still burning.

"Any ideas on how to put the fires out?" I asked.

"When did you get here? Why are you here?" Grover asked.

"Not helping Grover," I reminded him.

"Oh, right. Well we could…uh…" but he didn't have any ideas.

That's when Ares crashed through the dome, and water poured in. The trees were doused, but now we were going to drown. Not exactly how I planned to die. We waded through the water, scrambling for the exit. I had to lug Ares. Together, we made it to the training dome, along with the rest of the rebellion. We were still being pushed back.

Before long, we were backed up against the entrance to the command dome. Rebels fell down everywhere, and monsters turned to dust. I wasn't sure how I was still alive. Our archers were scourging for arrows now. We didn't have any reinforcements coming, where as the Titans were receiving fresh troops with every boarding pod.

"Light 'em up!" someone shouted, and suddenly the Titan forces were retreating. I turned to see the depowered gods charging out. Zeus held a sword that crackled with electricity. Hades wielded a double-edged sword of Stygian iron. Hermes was wading through the enemy with two razor sharp knives. Hephaestus had a giant shield and flaming sword.

They were awe inspiring. They drove the enemy back, and the rest of our forces attacked with renewed life.

Zeus was spinning, slicing, zapping and frying every monster within range of his fury. Hades was gliding across the battlefield like a living shadow. Hermes was bouncing around like pinball, and I didn't even see him strike, but suddenly a bunch of monsters burst into dust, and I know Hermes had done all that. Hephaestus held back the few brave enemy troops while the rest of the rebellion retreated in to the command dome. As soon as I was sure I wouldn't be killed, I ran for the command dome. All we could do now was hold out while Percy fought Kronos.

Percy's POV

I was standing in front of Kronos's throne room. Slowly, I lowered the helm of darkness onto my head and approached the throne room. Kronos sat on his throne, watching the battle at Typhon's Prison unfold. I snuck around behind him and spoke into his mind.

_Kronos. _He turned his head, but couldn't see me. _Kronos. _He sat up, looking around for me. _It ends here. _He slowly turned a full three-hundred and sixty degrees, scanning the room for me. I fired a bolt of lightning at his feet, making him jump.

"ZEUS!" he yelled. "Where are you?"

_Not Zeus. _I walked up behind him and whispered in his ear.

"It's Percy."

I kicked out so hard, the shockwave cracked the floor and Kronos flew straight into New York City. Removing the helm, I flew down to him, and the fight went into high gear. Our weapons clashed again and again at blinding speed. He tripped me with his scythe and followed up by slamming the butt end of it into my jaw. I heard a loud _crack, _and my jaw felt funny. I ran my sword through his torso, and then ripped my sword back out. I ignited my sword, and flames covered the blade.

Kronos morphed his sword into one of my worst nightmares; Backbitter, Luke's old weapon, before Kronos took over, and apparently before Luke came back to the good side. I involuntarily flinched. Kronos grinned.

I shook off my fear and attacked. Each clash of the two swords sent out a shock wave that shook the earth. And since our swords were moving at about the speed of sound, it was pretty much a constant earthquake. I parried and stabbed at his shoulder. He dodged and sliced at my stomach. I howled as the pain filled me. I kicked him away, hoping to buy myself enough time to heal.

I had the wound mostly closed by the time Kronos returned to attack. He aged buildings all around me until they crumbled and fell. I bashed away the rubble as best I could, and countered y causing and earthquake that sent more buildings collapsing, but this time on _him._ While he clawing his way out, I leapt back and fired enough arrows to blot out the sun. They rained down, and Kronos cursed my name…again.

He changed his weapon back into a scythe and hurled it at me. I tried to block it, but it went around and sliced behind my knees. As the scythe returned to Kronos boomerang style, I collapsed to the ground. He ran toward me and swung, but I wasn't there. As a matter of fact, I wasn't anywhere. Thank you helm of darkness. Combining the maddening fear powers of the helm with Dionysus's own powers over insanity, I entered Kronos's mind.

He collapsed, screaming in pain without me even having to touch him. He fell to his knees, clutching his skull. I fired a turbo charged lightning bolt, and Kronos went flying. He skidded across the Atlantic ocean, and slowly stood back up on the water. I flew out again to meet him, this time on my turf.

The ocean itself attacked with me, slamming him with waves and forcing him further away from dry land. In a desperate attempt, he slowed time around me and caught his breath. I sent down a lightning bolt from the sky, which hit Kronos and caused him to let go. I grabbed him by the neck and threw him all the way to Europe, where our fight continued. Kronos grabbed the Eiffel tower and smacked me with it. I sailed across the sky and crashed somewhere in the Sahara desert.

I sprinted all the way back to France and slashed at Kronos's neck. He dodged and stabbed me with his scythe point. I rolled away, my back bleeding. Kronos had been very close to hitting my weak point. I slashed again, but Kronos parried and sliced a line of silver into my chest. A lightning bolt struck my hand, charging it with electricity.

Kronos toppled after a few punches from an electric fist, but again slowed time to give himself time to recover. He rolled away and sliced.

I collapsed. Clutching my neck. While I was down, Kronos kicked me in my still partially open stomach wound. I screamed in pain.

"Not bad Jackson. But not very good either," Kronos scoffed.

A huge mass of lightning bolts struck our location, leaving the earth and Kronos scorched. I slowly stood up and walked over to the motionless Kronos. I wasn't sure if I'd beaten him or not. When I was about three feet from Kronos, it happened.

Kronos leaped up and kicked me between the legs. While I was hunched over, he punched me in the face until silver blood was pouring from my nose. I slowly raised my sword, making sure Kronos wouldn't notice.

He grabbed me by the neck and held me up. Menacingly, he raised his scythe o my neck. I made my move then, and slashed with my sword. Kronos let go and leaped back, clutching his left eye socket and screaming.

He looked at me and screamed, "YOU WILL BURN JACKSON!"

"We'll see about that," I confidently replied.

We took to the skies, where our fight continued. Lightning was striking all around us, lighting up the otherwise dark sky of China. Every now and then one of the bolts would hit Kronos and he'd howl in pain, or the bolt would hit me and my attacks would be turbo charged. Kronos grabbed my sword blade with his bare hands and pulled.

My sword went flying to who knows where. I drew my father's trident and kept fighting. The trident was obviously different from a sword. But like Riptide, it felt perfect in my hands. I blocked Kronos's attacks and followed up with my own. The sea below us was raging violently. One point of the trident, and an impossibly enormous geyser of water hit Kronos.

I hurled the trident, which pierced Kronos in the chest, shoulder, and stomach thanks to the three points. The trident violently ripped itself out of Kronos and returned to me, the tips now covered in Kronos's golden blood.

I swung the trident hard like a bat, and knocked Kronos down to California. E threw his scythe, which hit my shoulder. I grabbed the scythe out of the air and threw it at him. He caught it like nothing.

I readied my bow, but had another idea. Instead of notching an arrow, I notched the master bolt itself. It sparked and crackled with an almost blinding amount of light. When I was sure I had a lock on Kronos, I fired.

The explosion was titanic. It must've leveled everything in its path. But as the dust settled, I realized it had leveled everything except Kronos. Curse him.

I dive bombed Kronos at very close to the speed of light. The shockwave from the collision might have put the earth's orbit off balance. Still, Kronos refused to stay down. He slashed and hacked until My shirt and pants were in tatters and stained beyond all reason with silver blood. I ripped off what was left off my shirt and threw it at Kronos's face. He blindly swung, but I expected that a blocked with the trident. I stabbed Kronos with my own weapon, leaving three more puncture wounds.

Kronos leaped so high for, for a second I thought he had ran away. But the I realized he'd again changed our battlefield. We'd come full circle, and were once again fighting on Mount Othrys. I followed him up, but he caught me by surprise and grabbed my neck. With a cry of rage, he shoved my body into the hearth. I kicked away and leapt out, still burning. I ignored it and fought. I caught Kronos's neck in the space between two trident points and pinned him to a wall. I stood back and waved my hand.

Mist suddenly appeared, and through it I saw the battle at Typhon's Prison going poorly for my friends. I quickly punched Kronos in the face and pulled the trident away.

"This isn't over," I told him.

I started to fly back to Typhon's Prison, but Kronos grabbed my ankle and grinned.

"No, it's not," he smirked.

_**The fight continues, and all hope is dependent on Percy. No pressure. As their globe-spanning, earth-shaking, heart-pounding battle continues, Percy will be over his head in ways you wouldn't believe. How's Luke doing in his one-man campaign against the surfaced portion of the Titan fleet? Can Percy make it back it time to save the people he loves? Has Kronos finally won? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	25. Saving Percy

_**I realize that Percy getting cut up is a little strange, but keep in mind he's fighting Kronos, King of the Titans, Lord of Time. Think about it. Do you think that if the gods wanted to blast Percy to bits his invincibility would save him? No, it wouldn't. Same goes for Kronos. Kronos is so powerful, the invincibility is almost irrelevant. Any who, enough explaining stuff. **_

__I kicked him off and fired several arrows into Kronos's bad eye. He roared and tried to attack, but I was long gone. I sprinted off but was again stopped by Kronos. We dueled trident against scythe. But then I caught sight of my sword wedge into the ground nearby. Huh, guess I'm lucky on occasion. I slid between Kronos's legs and grabbed my sword. I slid the trident onto my back and readied my sword. Kronos took a defensive stance. I briefly took an offensive stance, and then ran away in the opposite direction.

I was flying straight for the battle at Typhon's Prison. Most of the ships had dived below by now, but twenty-five of them were still on the surface. I scanned the decks for Luke, if he was still alive. I found him lying down with a _dracaenae _above him.

I fired off arrows until the _dracaenae _fell down dead. Luke saw me and waved. After that, he ran to the command deck and sent the ship diving below the surface. That left twenty-four ships for me to destroy. Lightning bolts rained down, blasting the ships to bits. The sea itself attacked any and all survivors. When I was sure they were done, I dove for the ocean, hoping I could get to Typhon's Prison in time to help.

Just as I was about to hit the surface, Kronos showed up and batted me back into the sky using his scythe. I steadied myself mid-air and drew my sword again. I was getting pretty pissed at this point.

"Don't you ever give up?" I asked. I went into a power dive back for the ocean. I stood on the surface of the water, and Kronos cam down to meet me. I waved my hand, and a huge great white, maybe fourteen feet long, jumped up and sank its teeth into Kronos's leg.

Kronos roared and aged the shark to dust. Kronos looked at me murderously. I looked just as murderous.

"You're not the only one who's got a minion or two," Kronos reminded me.

He lightly tapped his scythe to the ocean. A mighty roar filled my ears.

"No!" I screamed, and quickly formed as many air bubbles for my friends as possible. Typhon rose slowly out of the ocean and set his sights on me. I was too busy with the bubbles to fight him or Kronos. Thing was, they didn't care about that and they both attacked anyways.

I dodged Kronos's giant claw and Kronos's scythe, but barely. My friends made it to the surface, and I focused on my fight. Typhon, big as he was, wasn't my biggest problem. Kronos was. He would wait until I was busy with Typhon, then leap out and cut me up with his scythe. And when I tried to counter Kronos, Typhon would almost kill me.

I needed Typhon gone, like now. On a total hunch, I used a tactic I'd gotten form that stupid movie _Clash of the Titans. _Yup, I released the Kraken. Typhon and the Kraken started slugging it out, and golden ichor was spilling out in the gallons. I turned my attention to Kronos.

Annabeth's POV

I saw Percy taking on Typhon and Kronos at the same time, and still trying to save us. We swam to the surface as fast as we could, hoping to save Percy the effort. As soon as I hit the surface, I saw Percy bat away Typhon's massive claw with a lightning bolt. A Titan sub/ship approached us. I got my sword ready, but then the one-man crew swam out. Luke motioned for me to follow him. I made sure everyone was okay, and then followed.

When we were back inside the sub/ship Luke got to work steering the ship back to the shore.

"Luke where are we going?" I asked.

"The fight's moving back to Mount Othrys. So are we," Luke said, not explaining anything.

"What?"

"I think I figured out how to beat Kronos, and I know where he and Percy are headed," he told me.

I put it together. But Luke was suggesting we take on a Titan. Percy had the power of the gods and he could barely do it. What chance did we have? Speaking of Percy, I hoped he was okay.

Percy's POV

Kronos punched again, and my head slammed into the floor. Punch after punch came, hammering me until my brains were rattling. Weakly, I reached for my sword, which was inches away from my fingertips. If it were Riptide, it would be in my hand by now. But it was Annabeth's knife in sword form.

Kronos threw another punch and hurled me across the room. I bashed my head against the base of Kronos's throne, and my vision went fuzzy. Kronos strode calmly to where my crumpled body lay, scythe in one hand, my sword in the other. He slashed with his scythe, and a cut opened on my cheek. It sealed itself quickly, and Kronos reopened the cut with another slash.

He transformed my sword back into knife mode. He admired the blade for a minute, as if deciding the most painful way to kill me with it. Suddenly, he smiled and turned his attention back towards me. A sudden idea of what he might do entered my mind. He wouldn't… I mean, that was low even for Kronos. There was no way he would–

I screamed louder than ever before as the knife sank into my chest. While it was in there, Kronos gave the knife a sharp twist. I screamed again. He lifted the knife up, pulling me up with it. He continued lifting until I was hanging in the air, held up by the knife in my chest.

I saw two figures enter the throne room. A boy and a girl. I caught sight of blonde hair and gray eyes. _No, not now. Leave while you still have a chance. _Neither of the figures heard my silent plea. Kronos, oblivious to what was behind him, saw the desperate look on my face and smiled.

"Well Jackson, I won. Any last words?" he gloated.

I saw Luke draw his own sword. Annabeth readied Riptide. Were they crazy? Why couldn't they just run? Well one thing was for sure, I needed to save them now.

"Yeah," I answered Kronos. "I don't lose."

I kicked Kronos in his immortal groin. He stumbled back, and I ripped the knife out of my chest. First, lightning crackled around me. The water began to swirl around me as well. The shadows grew and darkened. Fires blazed, wind picked up, my rage grew, plants grew all around the palace, the power of Olympus flowed through me. I charged Annabeth's knife with that power. It was a miracle the blade didn't explode. I stabbed Kronos with the super-charged knife. The explosion was massive, a thousand time bigger than the one the master bolt had caused. The palace was completely destroyed. Lying in the center of a blackened circle was Kronos. I felt too weak to move a finger.

Annabeth and Luke were on the ground several feet away. Neither of them were moving. Slowly Kronos rose up. He picked up his scythe weakly and walked over to where Annabeth and Luke were. In a desperate attempt, I grabbed his ankle. He merely kicked me aside and kept walking.

I watched helplessly as Annabeth began to stir. She looked up at Kronos, and cowered in fear. Kronos raised his scythe, and Annabeth flinched. I'd never felt so angry in my life, or so suddenly filled with strength. I sprinted at speeds I didn't think were possible for me and caught the scythe mid swing.

Kronos put more strength into his scythe, trying to shove me off. I held my ground, and the scythe started to crack from the stress. But then, everything was ruined. The horrible feeling off being pulled apart limb from limb by fiery whips. My heartbeat turned into a horrible stabbing feeling, and my blood felt like fire. My body glowed from the massive power overload. The cuts of light returned, bigger and brighter than ever before. I went to my knees, still gripping Kronos's scythe. I turned to Annabeth, and I saw her face.

She looked so afraid, so worried, so beautiful. I refused to let her die. I stood back up even as the pain reached new heights.

"You…can't win. I'm a Titan," Kronos seethed.

"I'm…a…half-blood!" I retorted.

The scythe shattered, and the shrapnel tore into Kronos. The Titan stumbled back, with the last strength I had, I grabbed a piece of shrapnel and sliced Kronos to ribbons. I collapsed, and Annabeth ran to me.

She held my dying figure in her arms, and as I faded into blackness, the last sensation I felt was her lips on mine. Not a bad way to go.

_**An almost poetic way to end the chapter. This isn't the end to the story however, so come back tomorrow. And be on the look out for the sequel, which will likely be called **__**Percy Jackson and the Wrath of the Mortals. **__**Anyway, all I have to say now is REVIEW!**_


	26. Reward

_**Due to the over whelming number of death threats, I would just like to clarify one thing… PERCY ISN'T DEAD! Don't believe me? Read this chapter and see for yourself. **_

___Am I dead? _No Charon wasn't laughing at me for getting myself killed. Then where was I? I couldn't think about it much, because I lost consciousness again.

When I woke up again, the first thing I saw was Annabeth sitting in a nearby chair, asleep. When I started to come to, I realized she wasn't the only one here. Grover was there too, leaning against the wall, playing a sad song on the reed pipes. I was in the infirmary, felling like crap. I managed a weak groan. Grover's eyes went wide as dinner plates, and he started shouting.

"He's awake! Guys! Guys! Come quick he's awake!" he shouted.

Annabeth stirred. "Don't joke like that Grover, it's just cruel."

"Annabeth I'm serious this time, look!" he insisted.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. I managed a smile. She shot up out of her chair and pulled me into a sitting position so she could hug me. The hug was so tight for a second I thought she was Tyson.

"We thought you were dead," Annabeth told me sadly, yet a huge smile was on her face.

She stepped back as other people entered the infirmary. Tyson, Poseidon, Thalia, Nico, Travis, Luke, Clarisse, Chris, Zeus, Hades, Hermes and Athena all walked in. A lot of them looked like they hadn't gotten much sleep, except for the select few and the gods who weren't my father.

"PERCY!" Tyson shouted. And when he hugged me, I was reminded what a true bear hug was.

"Careful Tyson, we don't want him busted after he just woke up," Thalia joked.

"I dunno," Clarisse mused. "I kinda want him busted up again. He didn't talk as much."

"Why are you so evil?" Thalia asked.

"Why did you start stuffing your clothes?" Clarisse countered.

"Will you two can it?" Nico asked. "You're giving me a headache."

"Good," Thalia laughed.

After a lot of you're okay's and you're a lucky man Jackson's, most of them left. But Poseidon and Annabeth stayed, and Athena stood at the doorway, not leaving, but not quite staying either.

"Well Seaweed Brain, you did it," Annabeth said. Tears started to form in her eyes.

"You're not going to cry are you?" I asked.

"_Pft, _I'm done crying. I think I'd rather do this," she told me.

The kiss lasted about half a second before our parents cleared their throats. We pulled apart, both blushing.

"I'm very proud of you Percy. It is an honor to call you my son," Poseidon told me.

I smiled, realizing I'd just given my dad eternal bragging rights for siring the greatest hero of all time. Not even Zeus's son Hercules could touch me. I told my dad this, and he laughed.

"I guess you're right. I did pretty awesome with you didn't I?" he joked.

"He had some help," Athena put in.

"Well, I suppose your daughter did alright too," Poseidon submitted.

"Alright?" Annabeth asked.

Annabeth and her mother both gave Poseidon the feared I'm-going-to-kill-you-slowly-and-painfully look. My father caved completely.

"Oh alright the girl did exceptional," he praised,

"That's better," Annabeth said smugly.

I jumped out of the infirmary bed. I nearly fell when I landed, but I kept on my feet. Athena smirked.

"Well, as long as he can stand, its time to decide the heroes' fates," she said, and walked away.

"Don't worry son," Poseidon reassured me. "This will most likely go well for all of you."

Thalia, Grover, Nico, Annabeth, Luke, and I were all summoned to the mostly restored Olympian throne room. The gods were back to normal in their full power.

"Grover Underwood," Dionysus called.

Nervously, my best friend stepped forward.

"For your bravery blah, blah, blah you know rest. And since they won't let me turn you into a shrub, I hereby declare you the new leader of the Council of Cloven Elders."

Naturally, he fainted.

"Oh that's just perfect," Dionysus grumbled. "Somebody get him out of here before he wakes up and starts groveling."

Tyson was up next, and he was given a new club and a new role as general of the army of Poseidon. He would lead the army into battle whenever required by the gods. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

"Annabeth Chase, my daughter," Athena said. Annabeth squeezed my hand and then walked forward.

It has come to our attention that Olympus has been…trashed. We could restore it as it was before, but we believe it could be improved. Therefore, we have elected you tot redesign Olympus," Athena told her.

For a second I thought Annabeth would faint too, but she stayed standing.

"Rise, Annabeth Chase, official Architect of Olympus," Athena announced.

Annabeth walked back to us in a trance. I smiled at her.

"Congratulations," I said.

"I…I need to start designing. I'll need," Annabeth started, but I admit I kinda tuned her out after the first few seconds.

"Luke Castellan," Zeus called grimly. Luke gulped and walked forward. He bowed to Hermes first, which got a smile form the messenger god and a glare from Zeus. Luke knelt before the gods, awaiting his fate.

"Luke, Castellan, you have betrayed Olympus, hosted Kronos, and nearly destroyed us all. And yet, for aiding in our victory and for your bravery in battle, I have to grant you complete and total amnesty for your actions. Tomorrow you will awake, a shameless hero," Zeus said.

I'm not sure who was happier, Luke or Hermes. George and Martha Hissed happily, and Luke promised George a rat.

Thalia was called up next, and after being praised to the point where it got annoying by her father, she was promised help in filling out hunter ranks as well as a new magic necklace, but no one bothered to tell her what it did. Oh joy, more mysteries.

Nico was called forward and Hades congratulated him, calling him a true hero and quite possibly his favorite son. He was promised a life of glory and adventure by the gods, and Aphrodite winked at him and Thalia.

"PERCY JACKSON!" my father called.

My name echoed through the chamber, and everyone, mortal and immortal alike fell silent. I stepped forward, and after giving Zeus a respectful bow, knelt before my father.

"Rise, my son. You have performed deeds second to none. Is there anyone here who would deny what my son deserves?" Poseidon asked.

The gods stayed silent.

"Percy Jackson," Zeus stated, "you may have one gift from the gods."

"Any gift?" I asked.

Zeus nodded. "I know what you will ask, the ultimate gift. We haven't bestowed this on a mortal hero in years, but–if you wish–then yes. I can make you a god, and you will serve as your father's lieutenant for all time. And we will have to put up with you forever."

I thought about it. I looked back at my friends, they were staring at me in awe. I saw Annabeth's face, and I remembered how I felt when I thought she was going to join the Hunters. I knew my decision.

"No," I said.

"No?" Zeus said, a dangerous edge on his voice. "You are…turning down our generous gift?"

"I'm honored and everything, but I…" I looked back at Annabeth and the others. "I've still got a lot to live for. I do want a gift though."

Zeus sighed. "If it is within our power, we will grant it."

"It is, and it's not that hard either. But I need you to swear on the River Styx," I told them.

"What you don't trust us?" Dionysus asked, but I could tell he was thinking _smart boy. _

"Someone once told me I should always get a sacred oath," I said, looking at Hades.

He shrugged. "Guilty."

"Very well," Zeus huffed. "In the name of the Council, we swear to grant your _reasonable _request as long as it is within our power."

"From now on, I want you to properly recognize all the children of all the gods," I stated.

"Meaning?" Zeus asked.

"No more unclaimed children. I want you to properly recognize all demigod children by the time they turn thirteen. And the minor gods should be given general amnesty and a place at Camp Half-Blood. And Hades–"

"Are you calling me a _minor god_?" he snarled.

"No my lord. But your children should not be left out either. They deserve a place at Camp Half-Blood, as well as you deserve a throne on Olympus," I continued.

Hades perked up a little, and Zeus tried to interrupt.

"Well if that's all, then I suppose–"

"And the peaceful Titan folk like Calypso should also be given amnesty. It's time to stop holding grudges," I finished.

"_Pft. _Is that all?" Zeus asked.

"I hold you all to your oath," I reminded them. "Remember that."

"And what if we don't do as you ask, hm?" Dionysus teased. "What then?"

"Oh, that's easy. I'll come after you guys," I told them.

Dionysus reclined in his chair, but I caught the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. Good.

"Just checking. Carry on."

The gods agreed to my wish, and the meeting was about to conclude when Thalia spoke up.

"You know what I don't get?" she said.

"What?" we all groaned.

"The prophecy said someone would die. _A single choice shall end his days. _But even though a lot of us came close, none of us died. I don't get it."

I thought about it. She had a point. We all looked at Apollo, god of prophecy. He found a new interest in the floor.

"Well…I suppose…due to the deteriorating power of Olympus…it may have been possible…that for the first time in three thousand years…my Oracle wasn't…one-hundred percent…"

"Oh for gods' sake brother just say it? Your Oracle was wrong," Artemis interrupted.

"One line!" Apollo cried. "One line of one prophecy in three thousand years! Cut a god some slack!"

"Maybe you just needed a new Oracle," a voice said.

We turned to see Rachael standing at the back of the room, wearing a confident look on her face. She waved to us and looked at Apollo.

"Guess it's a good thing I showed up," she smirked.

"Wait, Rachael…you're–" I stammered.

"You've got to be kidding me," Annabeth groaned.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Apollo hastily announced, "may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi!"

With that, Zeus declared the meeting over, and the victory celebration began. I danced with Annabeth, won the sword fighting competition we had, and watched Grover single-mouthedly down half the buffet table. He really was about to start eating the table itself, but some naiad stopped him thankfully.

Nico pulled some crazy prank on Travis. I'm not sure on the details, but it ended with Travis hanging upside down over the punch bowl. Katie Garner–who had also miraculously survived the war–cut him down, but not before the old, fun loving Travis swore revenge on Nico. Thalia laughed and said she'd help Travis if he needed any.

It was great. I'd never felt so pumped in all my life. The party lasted long into the night, and despite everything that had happened, we felt awesome. We felt invincible.

_**I know I know I copied some more stuff from TLO, but I had to for this story to get back on track. And I didn't copy it word for word either, so ha! Anyway, this story only has the epilogue left, so that'll be up tomorrow and the sequel soon after that. It's been great having you all here. See you here, there, or in the air!**_


	27. Epilogue

_**This is the epilogue. Just a happy little "let's wrap this up already" thing. How are things going on at camp, how are things going with the mortals, is there any aftershock from the temporary reign of the Titans? This answers that. Let's get it done.**_

I was leaning in the doorway of the Poseidon cabin, staring out at the various new cabins. It was really cool, with cabins for Iris, Nemesis, Hecate, Morpheus, Hades, and several other ones I didn't recognize. Annabeth was up at Olympus last time I checked, overseeing the rebuilding.

Thalia was with the Hunters again, on some grand adventure to who knows where. Nico was in the Underworld, bonding with his dad and trying to earn the relative approval of his stepmom. Not how I would spend my afternoon, but it was Nico we're talking about. He's probably into self-inflicted pain.

I heard the roar of the mortal crowd struggling against the magical borders. _Idiots_. The Mist have been destroyed by the Titans, but the mortals were no less stupid. They were trying to get into Camp Half-Blood to see what we demigods were up to. They would even try and storm the Underworld, demanding the resurrection of their lost loved ones. I hoped sooner or later they'd realize things didn't work like that.

The gods occasionally came down to the UN to talk things out and keep the relative peace. Any demigod not within the camp's borders attracted a lot of monsters, and of course the mortals decided to label all half-bloods public menaces. Honestly the only thing that kept them from throwing us all in jail was the fact that there was no law against being half Olympian.

In an effort to calm things down, the mortals were told how their world was destroyed, and then how it was saved. Thus, me and my friends became the central targets for the media.

I heard someone near Thalia's tree call out my name. I sighed and walked over to whoever was calling me. I saw Luke desperately holding back the guard dragon, who was snapping and clawing at the crowd of mortals.

"Percy, please tell me you can get rid of these people," Luke begged.

I thought about it, and figured out a way to do it. But that didn't mean I couldn't mess with Luke at the same time. Instead of answering his plea, I turned and left.

"Percy?" he called. "Percy! Percy get back here! PERCY!"

I walked over to the creek and summoned all my strength. I lifted the _entire _creek and sent it flying toward the crowd (and Luke). The crowd was doused and they took off. But something told me they'd be back. It might've had something to do with a girl in the crowd screaming "I love you Percy!" Gods she's lucky Annabeth's not here.

"What did that girl just say?" I heard a familiar voice ask, angry.

"Annabeth!" I shouted, glad to see my girlfriend again.

She tackled me in a hug, which I returned. When we finally pulled apart, she smacked me in the arm.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" she asked. "I tried to tell you I was coming back for a while, but you didn't pick up."

"Sorry, I was kinda busy with the mortals and the creek and the−"

"Oh save your excuses for the judges of the Underworld," another voice joked from behind me.

"Hey Nico," I greeted.

"Percy that water trick was so not funny," said a dripping wet Luke.

He saw the three of us standing together, and raised an eyebrow.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked all of us.

"No," I said.

An explosion went off in the Hades cabin, and Travis ran out smoking. Luke started laughing, and Nico stared and Travis in anger.

"Crap, it went off too early!" Travis shouted.

Nico walked up to Travis, with us following closely behind waiting to see the fireworks. Nico was practically smoking himself he was so angry.

"Travis, what…exactly…went off too early?" Nico asked.

Travis studied his shoes carefully as he answered. "It's best you don't know."

Nico would've punched Travis in the face, Rachael came up to us all peppy and happy. That immediately drained Nico of most of his energy, and saved Travis's life.

"Hey Rachael," I greeted.

"What's up?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh noth−"

Rachael's eyes glazed over with a green mist. When she spoke, her voice was tripled, like three Rachaels talking at once.

_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call_

_By storm or fire the world could fall_

_An oath to keep with a final breath_

_And foes bear arms to the doors of Death._

"−ing," Rachael finished, as if she'd never even said a prophecy that scared the living daylights out of me.

"Uh, Rachael…" I started.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Nevermind," I said.

I decided to put it out of my mind and save those problems for another day. I mean, it couldn't be that bad.

_**Oh Percy, you don't know how wrong you are. Wondering what the sequel about? Figure it out! The first chapter will be up tomorrow. (Yeah, I'm that good). Be ready to want me dead ladies and gents, and get ready to be hooked in time for the third installment.**_

_**Story awards:**_

_**Reviewed every chapter (no one got EVERY chapter, but this guy/girl got close): xMeLovePandazz**_

_**Chapter with most reviews: Betrayed**_

_**Chapter with least reviews: Reflections**_

_**That's the award ceremony, bye!**_


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